What made Yale University bolt from the hedge fund it helped build? The Wall Street Journal reports that people familiar with the Ivy League’s school pulling its $500 million from The Children’s Investment Fund Management has to do with concerns that its allocation to TCI was getting too large. These people didn’t tell the paper why altogether clearing out of the fund it helped start two years ago with $200 million was necessary, or where the money would now go. But these unnamed sources told the Journal that some investors were “irked” by a proposal in January by fund founder Christopher Hohn to hike fees for investors who put money with him for five years that would raise TCI’s share of profits from 13.5% to 16.5%. The fee increase proposal was withdrawn, but it should be noted that Hohn’s rates are generally lower than industry norms for those who lock up their money longer. Whatever the case, the Yale money is now history, and while TCI is likely to make up the difference through savvy investing, who can tell what impact losing the endorsement money will have on the fund. Yale’s endowment boasts the highest allocation to hedge funds – 25%, compared with the average 17.6% – and private equity (17%). With $7.5 billion AUM and a history of doubling initial investments, however, it would appear TCI has little to worry about.
