Yale Enlists Endowment Chief to Help Develop New Asset Managers

(Bloomberg) -- Yale University is enlisting the help of longtime Chief Investment Officer David Swensen as it seeks to develop the next generation of asset managers.

Swensen, who has run Yale’s $29.4 billion endowment since 1985, will teach in the Ivy League school’s new master’s program focused on asset management. The one-year program is scheduled to start in the 2020-2021 school year with an initial class of 20 to 25 students, Tobias Moskowitz, program director and a Yale School of Management professor, said in an interview. Tuition and fees will be $75,000.

Yale is among universities capitalizing on the demand for specialized degrees in varying disciplines related to finance. A flurry of one-year master’s programs have cropped up over the past decade, helping bolster funding sources for schools.

The goal is to give recent college graduates an edge in an industry that is experiencing increased pressure on revenues as investors turn to cheaper index-based products such as exchange-traded funds. Money managers must now work harder to justify the fees they charge as they struggle to outperform.

“There’s a huge demand for young talent that can solve these kinds of problems,” said Moskowitz, who is also a principal at investment firm AQR Capital Management.

The asset management degree is more specialized than a traditional MBA, he said. Moskowitz is one of several professionals working in the field who have signed on to teach the courses.

The program is intended for students who have less than three years of work experience and are seeking to understand the application of data, statistical, mathematical and economic frameworks in the investment industry.

--With assistance from Annie Massa.

To contact the reporter on this story: Janet Lorin in New York at jlorin@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Goldstein at agoldstein5@bloomberg.net, Melissa Karsh, Josh Friedman

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.