Ivy League endowment returns don’t beat the S&P500 …
I thought “Ivy League” used to indicate “Smart”, evidently not.
This story by Bloomberg shows that even “THE SMARTEST” (haha) of the Ivy Leaguers,
beset by continual “guessing about tomorrow”
would rather screw themselves, than to just do it the Smart Structure Way!!
Harvard’s Not-So-Smart Money: Two Decades of Poor Returns and Rich Pay
Its money managers underperformed after changing personnel and strategies at the worst times.
By Janet Lorin
September 29, 2024 at 3:00 PM EDT
“The story of the Harvard endowment’s lagging performance stems from a classic investment mistake: shifting strategies at inopportune times, chasing gains and, in short, buying high and selling low. Since 2005, Harvard has had seven endowment leaders, including three interim appointments and two who served fewer than two years.”
“Harvard’s current and former endowment chiefs either declined or didn’t respond to requests for comment. In a written statement, endowment spokesman Patrick McKiernan says HMC has a “singular focus” on generating risk-adjusted returns that support the school’s educational and research mission.”
I wonder if they would be so quiet if they were BEATING the S&P?? They USED to brag about their success ….
“Pay has moderated at Harvard from the times of Jack Meyer. But Narvekar’s average package over the past five years—$6.6 million—still tops Swensen’s $5 million in his final years at Yale, as well as his successor’s compensation of $1.7 million in his first year in the role. The record suggests Harvard is “getting worse returns and paying too much,” says Stan Eleff, a lawyer in Tampa and member of the Harvard Class of 1969, which has long included a group critical of the school’s investment manager compensation.
Since taking over, Narvekar made another change that will make it more difficult to assess how the fund is doing: In 2022,
Harvard stopped disclosing the performance of the various sectors of its holdings, including private equity and hedge funds.”
AS USUAL, YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS STUFF UP!!
If you’re doing a LOUSY JOB …. STOP TELLING PEOPLE YOUR RETURNS!!!
IF IT WASN’T DISGUSTINGLY SELF SERVING IT MIGHT ACTUALLY BE FUNNY!!
And that is HARVARD!!
THEY’RE SO SMART THEY’RE SCREWING THEMSELVES!!
They’re guessing and hoping like everyone else on Wall Street!!