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Martin: Smaller endowments must be price takers rather than negotiating fund terms

Anne Martin · Anne Martin - Pulling the Oars as CIO of Wesleyan University (Capital Allocators, EP.114) · Dec 2, 2019 · at 24:33

Anne Martin, CIO of Wesleyan University and former Yale endowment director, explains why smaller endowments cannot negotiate fund terms like larger institutions do.

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“We are not price negotiators. I spent a lot of time at Yale Working on LPAs and negotiating terms, we were going to be a price taker. So it was sort of a take it or leave it decision when we found managers we liked rather than, I mean, and yes, we like to say we punch above our weight or people want to hear our opinion, but the reality is that the larger investors are setting the terms.”

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