Ohio State’s long-term investment pool lost almost a quarter of its market value in fiscal year 2009, according to a report that will be presented to the OSU Board of Trustees on Wednesday.
The pool, which includes endowments and investments of OSU’s operating funds, decreased by $413 million, or 23.3 percent, to $1.66 billion in fiscal year 2009, which ended June 30.
By comparison, world equity markets dropped by 25 to 30 percent over the same period, according to the report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost about 25 percent over the same period, and the S&P 500 index lost about 28 percent.
The pool’s value has since climbed back to more than $1.8 billion.
The pool is managed by the Office of Investments, headed by OSU’s first Chief Investment Officer Jonathan Hook. Hook stepped into the role in August 2008, a short time before financial markets tanked last fall.
The Office of Investments has also cleaned house on portfolio managers since December 2007, adding 51 new managers and removing 34 managers in an effort to change investment strategies, the report states.
Parts of the report will be presented in committee meetings to the members of the OSU Board of Trustees Wednesday.
Personnel from the Office of Investments were out of the office and unavailable for comment.
