SMU, Yale Endowments Unload Real Estate Assets Due To Cooling Markets
It’s no secret that universities are getting hip to real estate, bringing on industry leaders to head investments. But as the industry cools, two top college endowments—Southern Methodist University and Yale University—are cutting back on investments. The two have been selling off assets since mid-last year, hoping to avoid cooling markets.
As of 2015, SMU’s $1.5B endowment cut real estate holdings by 84%, and Yale’s $25.6B fund followed behind cutting real estate investments by 31%.
The selloff comes at a time when endowments are grappling to boost performance, Bloomberg reports.
“It could have been a good time to sell the asset because of what they perceived to be cyclical high prices,” Pension Consulting Alliance consultant Christy Fields says. “People are feeling like the pricing is rich and they’re happy to take some money off the table.” [Bloomberg]
