The chief fundraiser for Illinois State University said student environmentalist concerns about the riskiness of investments in the fossil fuel sector are something money managers pay attention to.
Earlier this year, a student group asked ISU trustees for performance data on ISU’s energy sector holdings with the idea those investments might have underperformed, or could do so in the future because of global climate change.
ISU Vice President for University Advancement Pat Vickerman said just 5.9% of ISU’s $150 million endowment is in the energy sector.
Vickerman said a group called the Commonfund manages ISU's endowment money.
“We’re looking at the long term. I mean right now you’re looking at low-to-no inflation. And things can certainly change. Oil is at quite low right now, but there are plenty that feel it will go back up. What’s the time frame? That’s part of what Commonfund assesses,” said Vickerman, adding the group has been managing ISU assets for nearly 20 years.
“We feel good about the performance over the long term. It outperformed the benchmarks and the peer institutions over the one, three, five, and 10-year period,” he said.
Vickerman said ISU Foundation and Commonfund officials have met online with the student environmental group and plan to do so again.
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