CAMBRIDGE Elite universities are adopting strategies from American Ivy League institutions by hiring in-house investment committees to raise cash and reduce their dependence on state funding.
Cambridge took the lead yesterday by appointing a chief investment officer, Nick Cavalla, who will join from the Man Group, the world's biggest listed hedge fund company. Oxford said that it was likely to follow suit within ten months with its own American-style investment offices. The British universities have been stung into action by the impressive investment returns achieved by US universities such as Yale and Harvard, both of which have seen the value of their endowments grow by at least 16 per cent a year and in the past 10 years, more than double the returns at Oxford and Cambridge. Cambridge has also begun a £1 billion fund-raising campaign, which aims to persuade more alumni to make donations.