Yale’s Endowment Model Falters at Tough Moment for Universities

Jagdeep Singh Bachher, who oversees the University of California system’s investments, did something quietly revolutionary seven years ago.

He shifted a small piece of the schools’ endowment money away from the typical choices: costly and complicated private equity, venture capital and hedge funds. Instead he invested in old-fashioned stocks and bonds, through index funds that charge next to nothing.

Bachher started with a couple of hundred million in seed money, and ultimately UC’s campuses allocated $5 billion. The result: UC’s new fund, over the three years ended in June, reported a 15% average annual return, thrashing the performance of ...