Stein to leave investment role at end of fiscal year

Vice President and Chief Investment Officer Peter Stein announced that he will leave the University this summer for family reasons.

To help in the search for his successor and ensure a smooth transition, Stein will remain at his post through June 30, the end of the University’s fiscal year.

Stein joined the University in 2005, and has managed an endowment portfolio that has consistently outperformed market indices for each asset class. The portfolio also has outperformed U.S. colleges and universities as a whole, and has continued to improve among the largest private university endowments in the nation.

“Peter has provided a very knowledgeable and analytic approach, together with a steady hand in managing our endowment through both positive and negative financial environments,” said President Zimmer.

The financial upheavals that began last fall have led to sharp drops in university endowments across the nation. Based on estimates of some University of Chicago holdings and outside assessments of higher education portfolios, Provost Thomas Rosenbaum recently advised that the University’s endowment has likely decreased by roughly the same proportion as its peers’, in the range of 25 percent, since hitting its high point of more than $6.5 billion last summer.

But Stein said the accomplishments of the last four years put the University in a position to prosper as the economy rebounds.

“We’ve built the team and we’ve established the relationships and reputation that bring us a greater breadth of investment opportunities than ever before,” Stein said. “I’m proud of the group and what we’ve accomplished.”

During Stein’s tenure, the University hired a number of top-notch investment professionals who Stein said add depth, helping managers and directors leverage their expertise. That, in turn, has allowed the University to restructure its portfolio to make the best use of its institutional strengths.

Stein said that he is focused now on managing the portfolio and working with the University’s investment committee to help recruit a new chief investment officer. He is also exploring opportunities that will offer the best combination of professional challenge and location for his family.