Trinity College Replaces Investure as Endowment's Manager

(Bloomberg) -- Trinity College will replace Investure as its investment manager, hiring Commonfund to run the $577 million endowment.

The change will take effect July 1, said Kathy Andrews, a spokeswoman for the elite liberal arts school in Hartford, Connecticut. A spokesman for Commonfund also confirmed the move. No reason was given for the switch.

Investure, which pioneered the outsourcing of investment offices for nonprofits, has been suffering client defections as founder Alice Handy prepares to retire at year-end. For Commonfund, which has pooled money to invest for hundreds of schools since the 1970s, the switch is a welcome victory as it has seen its growth stagnate amid increased competition.

Handy, 69, didn’t respond to emails seeking comment.

Trinity has been an Investure client for 10 years, according to the school. The endowment gained an annualized 8.9 percent in the five years through June 30. The fund gained 13.3 percent in fiscal 2017, according to a school report.

Rapid Growth

The outsourced chief investment office industry has grown rapidly as nonprofits and other institutions seek to cut costs and improve returns. About $100 billion has been outsourced in higher education, more than double since 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Investure, based in Charlottesville, Virginia, manages about $14 billion. In addition to Trinity, Investure has lost Barnard College, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and The Commonwealth Fund, while adding five clients.

Read more: Alice Handy, a Pioneer in Investing for Nonprofits, to Retire

Commonfund, which was started to help small schools pool their investments, oversees about $25 billion. The Wilton, Connecticut-based company hired Catherine Keating from JPMorgan Chase & Co. as chief executive officer in 2015. She has overhauled operations, cutting costs and competing for business from larger nonprofits.

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.