Commonfund sponsors case competition

Wilton-based investment manager Commonfund recently sponsored the second annual Low-Carbon Portfolio Case Competition, which took place at Yale School of Management in New Haven on Nov. 13. Hailing from Columbia Business School, University of Maryland Smith School of Business, University of Connecticut School of Business, Yale School of Management, and other institutions, 10 master of business administration (M.B.A.) teams competed against each other in a contest to develop the best investment management strategy that responds to fossil fuel divestment from university endowments. The winning proposal, made by a team composed of M.B.A. students from Duke University and the University of North Carolina, recommended developing a growth fund that focuses on natural resource-based real assets as a way to hedge financial and climate risk. In addition to their $10,000 prize, members of the team were automatically entered into the finalist round of the Business for a Better World Case Competition in Davos, Switzerland, this January. The Business for a Better World Case Competition is an international contest co-sponsored by clean capitalism company Corporate Knights and the York University Schulich School of Business in Toronto, Canada. CEO and President of Commonfund Catherine M. Keating said, “Commonfund was thrilled to partner with the Yale School of Management again this year on a topic that is of major interest to institutional investors, and particularly, our endowment, foundation and pension clients. “Each of the teams presented thoughtful proposals and innovative ideas that will help to advance our thinking on carbon-aware investing strategies.” Runners-up include the team from Columbia University Business School, which took the second place prize of $3,000, and the team from Cornell University Johnson Graduate School of Management, which took the third place prize of $1,000. Commonfund manages customized investment programs for endowments, foundations and pension funds.

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