29/06/2011 Author: Shannon Hawthorne

Wilfrid Laurier makes first hedge fund move

The Canada-based Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU), which manages $372.3m in assets across its endowment and pension funds, has made its first move into the hedge fund space, HFMWeek can reveal.

The university’s three investment funds, the WLU Pension Plan, the WLU Endowment Fund and the WLU Balsillie Fund, have hired Canadian hedge fund Polar Securities as part of a new alternative strategies portfolio.
Each WLU fund has invested in two of Polar Securities’ strategies: North Pole Capital Investments, a multi-strategy fund, and Altairis, a long/short equity fund.

The university’s investment portfolio previously consisted of 60% equities and 40% bonds. These asset classes were reduced to 53% and 32% respectively earlier this year, to allow for a new 15% allocation to alternative strategies, including hedge funds.

Back in May, in a review of the first quarter, the university’s investment consultant Global Investment Solutions suggested that multi-strategy and credit arbitrage funds should be considered as part of the alternative strategies portfolio.

The firm also noted that the primary driver of the decision to change the university’s asset allocation was concern over the impact of changing interest rates on equities and bonds, stating: “This supports the talk we are hearing about the substantive move by US pension funds from traditional assets to alternative asset classes.”