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Congresswoman Asks Princeton To Include More Black Asset Managers When Investing Its $26B Endowment

Congresswoman Asks Princeton To Include More Black Asset Managers When Investing Its $26B Endowment

Princeton
The Princeton University endowment is in the spotlight right now. Most recently, the endowment underperformed and there’s a call for more Black representation. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., speaks during a hearing with FBI Deputy Assistant Director Peter Strzok before the House Committees on the Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform during a hearing on “Oversight of FBI and DOJ Actions Surrounding the 2016 Election,” on Capitol Hill, Thursday, July 12, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The Princeton University endowment is in the spotlight right now. Most recently, the endowment underperformed, so much so Princeton’s endowment chief conceded is “less than fully satisfying.”

“In a year when every Ivy League school’s endowment posted smaller returns than in the year prior, Princeton’s results were in the bottom half of the group…Princeton’s $26.1 billion endowment, up about $200 million from the previous year, remains the third-largest among the Ivies,” The Princeton PAW reported. 

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Another reason the endowment is under scrutiny is that it has still failed to diversify and one congresswoman wants to know why.

Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman, a New Jersey Democrat who represents the district where Princeton is located, recently questioned the president of Princeton about the school’s efforts to include more diverse asset managers when investing its $26 billion endowment, the nation’s fifth-largest.

Coleman asked the Ivy League school about possible policy changes that make the inclusion of such firms more likely, according to a Nov. 12 letter to President Christopher Eisgruber and Andrew Golden, head of the Princeton University Investment Co.

“Earlier this year, Golden detailed the fund’s efforts to add more women and minorities as investment managers, including two venture capital firms selected by the school. Golden also began a pilot mentoring program for women and minorities in investing,” Bloomberg reported.

“As requested, we look forward to a dialogue with the congresswoman on our efforts related to these important issues,” said Ben Chang, Princeton’s spokesman.

Coleman was one of the sponsors of a bill in 2018 to repeal a new endowment tax that has been levied on nearly 30 of the wealthiest U.S. universities. Princeton is among them.