Harvard's Second Quarter Equity Holdings Reduced 18 Percent

Harvard’s equity holdings were reduced 18.8 percent this past quarter amid a 10.6-percent fall in the Dow Jones industrial average during the same period and increased exposure to emerging markets.

Harvard held 94 securities totaling $1.44 billion in the quarter ending June 30—a drop from the $1.78 billion in equities Harvard held in the previous quarter, according to Harvard Management Company’s quarterly 13F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission released Friday.

From the filing, it is unclear if the decrease represents a loss or simply a reallocation of funds. Since Harvard money managers moved back into the stock market at the end of 2009—when the value of Harvard’s holdings totaled $2.26 billion—the University's stock holdings have declined for two consecutive quarters.

The filing offers only a glimpse into the management of Harvard's endowment, which was valued at $26 billion in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, since the 13F only lists positions in securities listed on U.S. exchanges that HMC directly controls.

Outside money managers invest about two-thirds of the endowment, and the HMC may also have other financial investments such as real estate that would not be listed on a 13F disclosure.

Similar to previous quarters, exchange-traded products that track the performance of emerging markets make up 78.5 percent of the value of Harvard’s positions.

Harvard’s two largest positions—both in terms of quantity and value—are in two exchange-traded funds that track global emerging markets and the performance of 25 large Chinese companies.

Meanwhile, the HMC shed $56.5 million of a Brazilian ETF, opting instead to invest in individual Brazilian firms spanning sectors ranging from finance to telecommunications, and added more than 1 million shares of an ETF that invests in India to its portfolio.

The value of Harvard’s positions in Indonesia, the Netherlands, Russia, and Thailand all increased by at least $3 million, while investments in Israeli firms that were listed in previous filings did not appear on this past quarter’s disclosure.

The apparent sale of securities in Israeli companies prompted some speculation that political motivations were driving trades, particularly in light of the Israeli raid of a Turkish flotilla.

But University spokesman John D. Longbrake said in an e-mailed statement the University has not divested from Israel. Longbrake added that holdings in developed markets, such as Israel, are managed by outside investors, meaning that it would not appear on the HMC's 13F.

On the domestic front, HMC’s $45.9 million investment in XTO Energy and $45.3 million investment in BJ Services listed on the first quarter’s 13F did not appear, though it is not clear whether this was related to the effects of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on the oil industry.

At the end of the last quarter, Harvard also held 6,000 shares of Goldman Sachs, which came under scrutiny for marketing a subprime mortgage product but settled those charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission after the quarter ended.

Other notable domestic investments that are new to this past quarter’s disclosure include an $11.7 million stake in Qwest Communications and a $10.4 million position in Boots and Coots, a company known for its emergency response capabilities to oil well disasters that Halliburton is interested in acquiring.

—Staff writer Naveen N. Srivatsa can be reached at srivatsa@fas.harvard.edu.