Tracking David Swensen’s Yale Endowment Holdings – Q1 2012 Update


This article is the first of a series that provides ongoing analysis of the changes made to Yale Endowment’s US stock portfolio on a quarterly basis. Yale Endowment had 6.7% of its assets allocated to US equities as of 06/30/2011. The total value of the endowment is just shy of $20B, about 15% below the all-time high of $23B reached in 2008. It’s ten-year performance of over 10% places it in the top one percent of large institutional investors. As of Q4 2011, the US long portfolio had $198.83M invested and that has come down over 35% to $128.39M as of Q1 2012. The relatively large shift in allocation indicates a bearish bias towards US equities as an asset class. The portfolio is very concentrated with just ten issues and the number of equities did not change this quarter – the fund sold out of three positions but added three others.

The spreadsheet below highlights changes to Swensen's US stock holdings in Q1 2012:


Below is a summary of his new stakes:

 
Linkedin Corporation (LNKD): LNKD is a 2.25% stake that was established this quarter when the price-per-share varied between $61 and $104. LNKD had the biggest internet IPO since Google (2004) on May 19, 2011 and its stock promptly doubled from its IPO price of $45. The stock saw a sell-off following lockup expiration on November 19, 2011 and it traded in the $59 range in late November. Since then, the stock has produced a stunning return of over 85% in the last six months – the stock trades around $110 currently.

Pandora Media (P): P is a very small 0.7% stake that was established this quarter when the price-per-share varied between $10 and $15. P is another internet stock that IPOed mid-last-year (June 15, 2011). The stock fell below $10 following lockup expiration in December and it currently trades around the same price-range. Following a weak Q4 report and anemic forecast on March 7, 2012, the stock fell 25% but has since recovered a little.

Hallador Energy (HNRG): HNRG is a very small 0.3% stake that was established this quarter when the price-per-share varied between $8.7 and $10.83. The stock currently trades at around $7.8. HNRG is a small-cap stock engaged in the production of steam coal from a single mine in Western Indiana. The allocation is very small to indicate a bullish bias.

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