does anyone here happen to work for an endowment? i think it would be great to work at a moderate to large in size endowment as an investment analyst, but never even thought about looking for that kind of position until now… any other thoughts? http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123180744823875647.html
I haven’t worked for an endowment so can’t give you any first hand experience, but I would imagine that a decent sized endowment would be a good place to work. I can’t imagine it would be too easy to get a job at present however, unless you have very good contacts or a stellar resume. As an aside: I read David Swensen’s previous book and liked it. Has anyone read his recent update yet? I’m thinking of getting it.
I dont work for an endowment but know there are some peeps on here that do. I am partway thru his book “Pioneering Port Mgmt” I think its called, sorta got tossed aside when the sh*t hit the fan a few months ago…and now I find myself questioning some of the strategies. But I enjoyed what I had read. In endowment news I have seen 2 positions recently for investment analyst type roles at endowments, they are not recession proof but are dif than corporate america.
Dr. von Nostrand Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > does anyone here happen to work for an endowment? > i think it would be great to work at a moderate to > large in size endowment as an investment analyst, > but never even thought about looking for that kind > of position until now… any other thoughts? > > http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123180744823875647 > .html I do . I’m in canada . We manage the pension and the endowment fund for a university . About 1.1 billion AUM …well not anymore .
Rudeboi, i am very interested in this and am in Canada too, can i send you an email and ask a few questions…
sure … s j d c 07 06 at gmail dot com
Many endowments are set up as fund of funds. So your analysis consists of selecting others who actually do the analysis (as well as some macro analysis here and there). And you do lots of administrative tasks to keep track of the billions of dollars (e.g., cash management, performance measurement, etc.). This sort of role seems better than nothing but is unlikely to land you a job at a hedge fund/private equity fund/etc. unless that fund wants to tap your connections to the endowment people (i.e., to raise capital). I interned for a public university endowment and it seemed like comp for the analysts was low (
I work at a foundation in NYC with several billion in assets. I echo GoBlue’s thoughts - we’re basically a fund of funds, so rather than manage money ourselves we select managers. The analyst salary here is mid 60s with some room upward, but tons of vacation time and great benefits. When institutional investors talk about making investments, a lot of it is legal stuff - reviewing massive legal docs, SEC forms, checking references - rather than security analysis. We do some macro analysis and asset allocation stuff, but not a ton, and for the really heavy number crunching we still bring in our consultant. It’s a good place to be right now since the job is very secure, but it’s a little frustrating to have all this money and then give it to someone else and let them manage it while just keeping track of their performance stats. It’s also a good place to study for CFA, since the hours are not bad at all. I’ve also had the chance to meet some very well known managers on the hedge fund side, but again, it’s not quite the same as working for them.
I work at a major university endowment and I mostly concur with Pox and goblue’s (did you intern at UMich?) thoughts. One point I have to disagree with is goblue’s point about the job not likely to land you a private equity or HF position. I think that an analyst position out of undergrad at an endowment is a great place to start as you are more macro based and develop a meaningful skill set in all asset classes (or whatever asset classes the endowment/foundation invests in). Not to mention the huge network you can build while performing due diligence on your underlying portfolio managers. This network can come in handy when looking for a job at a PE/HF firm if this is what you desire. More likely, you’d be looking at going back to for an MBA or working for a fund of funds once you’re ready to move on from the analyst position.