Generously Endowed

...And cue annual NYT David Swensen panegyric NOW.

Nevertheless, Mr. Swensen, who was an early leader in creating a strategy of investments diversified beyond stocks and bonds, outperformed rivals. He argued in his book “Pioneering Portfolio Management” that depending solely on stocks and bonds would not necessarily provide enough protection to a fund. His approach has led Yale’s endowment into hedge funds, private equity funds and hard assets like timber and oil and gas, and made his performance one that is closely watched by Wall Street.

Sadly, yaleinsider.org and unfarallon.info are no longer available, but readers of this blog will be join me in recognizing the major environmental, labor, geopolitical, and, um, ethical problems involved in Yale's investments in these areas - be they hedge funds, water rights in colorado, forests in Maine, or oil and gas in Alberta and/or the Sudan.