Every quarter, any fund managers overseeing more than $100 million must publicly disclose their quarter-end holdings in the Securities and Exchange Commission's Form 13-F. It lists all U.S.-traded securities the fund's manager held at the end of the quarter. Although the form doesn't disclose short positions or intraquarter trades, it can illuminate long stock bets.
Meet David Swensen
David Swensen has been managing the Yale University endowment fund since 1985. In a 2008 article, Fool contributor Tim Beyers called Swensen The Best Investor You've Never Heard Of. He also teaches at Yale. The total market value of Yale University's disclosed equity holdings as of March 31 -- the latest quarter for which data is available -- was $117.5 million across seven holdings. (Swensen is famous for maintaining positions across multiple asset classes.)
The endowment fund's seven U.S.-listed equity positions and associated share-count changes as of March 31 were:
-
iShares MSCI Emerging Market Income ETF
(NYSE: EEM) -
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust
(NYSE: SPY) -
iShares S&P 100 Index Fund
(NYSE: OEF) -
iShares Trust MSCI EAFE Index Fund
(NYSE: EFA) - Dionex -- new holding
-
Approach Resources
(Nasdaq: AREX) -
Wolverine World Wide
(NYSE: WWW)
The Yale endowment also eliminated positions during the quarter in four stocks: Savvis
A look at what did well last quarter
Here's where Yale is winning and making new bets, at the moment:
- Current winner: Wolverine World Wide did well, increasing 17% in the first quarter of the present year. Wolverine, however, is the smallest equity holding in the Yale endowment at just 0.7%.
- New bets: The new additions, Dionex and Approach Resources, comprise 2.6% and 2.2% of the total portfolio, respectively.
So there you have it -- a quick glance at the equity portfolio of Yale University's endowment. Sound off with your thoughts in the comments section below.
