Harvard Hedge Fund hits 29 billion

HedgeCo.Net (New York) – The Harvard University investment arm, Harvard Management Co., manages the largest education based endowment in the world. Harvard has a long record of success in beating the market, but this years $29.2 billion rate of returns falls slightly from last years high. Big gains in commodities and foreign stocks were among the endowment’s investment highlights.

Harvard’s hedge fund endowment grew $3.3 billion during the fiscal year ending June 30, reaching an all time high of $29.2 billion, returning 16.7% on its investments.

Harvard Management said its most recent annual performance was particularly strong in emerging markets, included gains of 37.8% in emerging market stocks, which includes industrializing economies such as India, China, Russia, and Brazil.

The report also showed gains of 26.7% in commodities, 26.5% in more developed foreign stock markets, and 22.7% in real estate. It earned 22.7 percent in private equity investments and 15 percent in hedge funds categorized as “absolute return and special situations.”

El Erian, the new head at the Harvard hedge fund, since Jack R. Meyer left in September, said that investors are copying Harvard’s endowment strategies. “The minute something becomes attractive in terms of showing that it results in consistent returns, a lot of people want to do it,” he said.