The University of Chicago's Office of Investments (COI) is responsible for managing the University's investment assets, which includes overseeing the endowment to ensure that it benefits both current and future generations of the University of Chicago. COI oversees the broad investment strategy and provides input to the development of the strategic and tactical investment policies of the University & UCMC endowments, pension plans and self-insurance trust assets. Their strategy combines qualitative and quantitative analysis, seeking to achieve superior investment performance on a risk-adjusted basis.COI's approach seeks to evaluate the investment strategy as an integrated part of the operating plans of the University rather than in isolation and focuses the the University's overall success, not investment returns. The endowment is well-diversified across a variety of asset classes, including global stocks and bonds, real estate, natural resources, private equity, absolute return strategies and protection (tail-hedging strategies). Asset class exposure is achieved primarily by selecting and engaging external managers. COI manages the global macro and the overlay portfolio to ensure that the portfolio's overall positioning is compliance with the endowment's investment guidelines.COI's strategies for investing in the public markets include: Absolute Return, Private Debt, Fixed Income and Credit. and Global Equities.COI's real assets team invests globally in real estate and natural resources using outside managers. The real estate portfolio invests globally in value-added and opportunistic strategies using both private partnerships and public vehicles. The natural resources portfolio invests globally in strategies that include, but are not limited to: oil and gas exploration & production; power generation; infrastructure; timber; mining and minerals; and agriculture.
