The diligent diversifier

Under Mark Yusko’s stewardship, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s endowment has performed strongly. But his team’s success has not come without a little controversy.

Today, the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill has a strongly performing and sophisticated endowment. But six years ago, its approach was an exemplar of traditional investment, with most of its portfolio consisting of stocks and bonds. Compared with the top Ivy League endowments, its performance was lacklustre. Now, around 85% of the $1.1 billion endowment is allocated to alternative investments. Its volatility of returns is among the lowest of all US endowments – at around 5% –