Yale’s $2.5 Billion Private Equity Sale Tests Its Vaunted Endowment Model

Yale University’s $41 billion endowment, led for decades by the late investing giant David Swensen, has been the envy – and the blueprint — for many US universities eager to secure their financial future.

Swensen was the face of higher education’s embrace of private equity, illiquid investments held for the long term. His push beyond the traditional stocks and bonds portfolio was a major part of the endowment’s size doubling five times over. And where Swensen went, others followed.