The endowment’s current allocation to private equity is about 9 percent. Last year, the LP raised its private equity target allocation to 15 percent from 3 percent, with a range of 5 percent to 20 percent.
Lehigh University anticipates reaching its goal for the asset class within the next five years, but has no target amount to invest per year, Peter Gilbert, CIO of the endowment, told Buyouts. The university’s investments in private equity are opportunistic, depending on the fundraising cycles of managers and its own ability to gain access to targeted high-quality managers. “We are pretty happy with [our] manager relationships right now,” said Gilbert.
Funds that Lehigh University has backed in the past include generalist buyout fund
Gilbert is considered a maverick of sorts due to his penchant for relatively high allocations to alternatives. He joined Lehigh as the endowment’s first CIO in August 2007, after running investments for the
As of June 30, 2008, Lehigh ranked 65th in endowment size among 791 institutions, up from 72nd in 2007 among 785 institutions, according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers.