Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Independent Online Edition > Business News-Oxford aspires to riches with US-style fund

Independent Online Edition > Business News: "Oxford aspires to riches with US-style fund
By Gary Parkinson, City Editor
Published: 27 March 2006

A new fund was launched this morning to manage money for Oxford University colleges in an attempt to mimic the success that America's Ivy League universities have had in boosting their incomes.

Led by Karl Sternberg, a former chief investment officer at Deutsche Asset Management, Oxford Investment Management (OXIM) will start with a total of around £100m from three colleges.

Balliol has joined Christ Church and St Catherine's colleges as majority shareholders in the new business. They hold 60 per cent of OXIM, with the remainder held by its management.

It is hoped that other colleges, charities and rich individuals will be attracted to join the scheme by the expertise of its managers and the advice from Watson Wyatt, the consultant.

OXIM is to be run as a commercial company, charging fees from others that climb on board. That will allow for an income to colleges on top of their investment returns. OXIM is aiming for returns of 5 per cent above inflation over five-year rolling periods.

Both Oxford and Cambridge are facing increasingly tough competition from the leading American universities, which are much better funded.

In the United States, Ivy League schools have enjoyed impressive returns on their investm"

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