Making it work while enrollment takes a dive

Some of the institutions I am visiting confront what I will call a challenging demand scenario. That is, what used to be a lock for, say, 400 new students is now in the low 300s.  The reasons for this drop-off are many and vary with diverse institutional...

Endowment Fairy Tales – Part III

Stocks can have a lot of overhead So you are entrusted with investing an endowment and are looking at the various options thinking there has to be a better way.  After all, the overhead in stock investing is quite significant.  Think about how much boards...

Endowment fairy tales – part II

“Invest in a broad array of stocks and bonds and hold them for the long term.”  Those who held General Motors stock and/or bonds in 2006 might disagree.  Same goes for WorldComm, Enron, Kodak, AT&T, Adelphia Cable, RIM/Blackberry, JCPenney and a...

Endowment investing and other fairy tales

If I used the title “retirement account” my following might go up about ten-fold.  All of us are a little nervous as markets reach historic highs and the future seems anything but rosy.  I write this as the government is shutting down its non-essential...