Investure, LLC: Investing in Alternative Assets

several companies competing to win the mandate to manage F&M's assets. Investure's approach is to pool the assets of "like-minded" institutions and significantly increase their allocations to PE. Miller and his team are preparing to meet with the F&M board's investment committee to describe Investure's services and approach to investment management. This case is designed to introduce students to AA and the distinctions among PE, hedge funds, and private capital within this asset class. It focuses primarily on why PE is a difficult asset class to manage and describes several channels available to small endowments like F&M to access PE. The case introduces students to the core vocabulary of PE investing and limited partnership agreements. To make the concepts and terms more concrete, it provides a simple exercise that asks the students to calculate the expected internal rate of return (IRR) on an investment made through a traditional limited partnership (primary fund commitment) and a fund of funds and compare those to Investure's approach. Students must evaluate and discuss the feasibility and attractiveness of each alternative to F&M. In doing so, the case creates an opportunity for students to discuss the current trends and issues many E&Fs confront as they attempt to increase allocations to PE. The case is appropriate for use in an introductory or early class in courses focusing on PE, venture capital (VC), and entrepreneurial finance, as well as in specialized courses for fund trustees interested in AA. The case can be used for the following purposes: 1. To introduce students to AA and how they differ from public equities and fixed income.

• Partnerships
• Private equity
• Venture capital
• Investment management