Harvard Endowment's Biggest Public Holding Is a High-Yield ETF
- iShares iBoxx corporate bond fund valued at $841 million
- Endowment managers disclose first-quarter holding in filing
A sculler rows on the Charles River past the Harvard University Campus in Cambridge, MA, Tuesday June 30, 2015.
Photographer: Victor J. Blue /BloombergThe Harvard University endowment’s biggest publicly traded holding is a high-yield bond exchange-traded fund, a move into a cheap, passive investment as the school replaces some of its own traders with external money managers.
Harvard Management Co. disclosed in a filing that it held 9.6 million shares of iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF valued at $841 million in the first quarter. The ETF gained 2.3 percent for the three months. The fund also purchased options with a face value of almost $500 million for two other ETFs and sold out of 30 positions, including real estate developer Howard Hughes Corp.