Stanford Attempts to Sell Hard-to-Sell Investments

During the last decade, elite universities moved toward investing in illiquid assets, which turned out to be less-than-desirable investments after stocks fell last year. 

Earlier this month Stanford University reportedly offered to sell as much as $1 billion worth of the university’s hard-to-sell investments.  The university’s endowment fund has lost one quarter of its value last year.  According to Craig Karmin and Peter Lattman, Stanford Puts $1 Billion in Assets on Block, WSJ, Oct. 3, 2009, 

The significant size of the sale, along with an innovative approach Stanford is taking toward it — it hopes to sell just pieces of its stakes rather than entire partnerships — will make the effort widely watched among both private-equity players and universities anxious to see if demand for these types of assets has rebounded after a near-moribund stretch this past year.

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.