Cambridge University CIO, Senior Staff Resign

Nick Cavalla, CIO of Cambridge University’s £3.3 billion ($4.31 billion) endowment fund, and three senior members of his staff of nine are leaving the university to join Talisman Global Asset Management, the investment arm of the privately held William Pears Group.

During Cavalla’s tenure as head of Cambridge’s investment team, he helped increase the size of the university’s endowment to £3.3 billion from less than £1 billion, and delivered a 10% return on an annualized basis for more than 10 years, according to the university.

Cavalla will become CEO of Talisman, which was established in 1994 to be the asset management arm of the Pears family. After starting with investment capital of £50 million, the firm now has total assets under management of £3.6 billion. Joining Cavalla at Talisman are investment director Bruce Lockwood, and associate investment directors Conor Cassidy and Vincent Fruchard, according to the Financial Times.

“After 10 years at the University of Cambridge, it felt like the right time to take on a new challenge, with the endowment in great shape for the future,” Cavalla said in release. “I am very excited to be joining Talisman Global Asset Management, a high-quality investment platform, and look forward to launching a new business for them.”

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However, Cavalla’s decision to leave was related to ongoing criticism of the endowment and its investment team over its fossil fuel investments, according to two unnamed sources cited by the FT. Cambridge Zero Carbon Society, a divestment campaign group, has been calling for Cavalla to resign for more than a year.

In June, the University’s council, which is the executive and policy-making body of Cambridge, rejected proposals from students and faculty to divest fossil fuel assets from the endowment’s portfolio.

“Pursuing a strategy that would insist on disengagement from any funds that have even small fossil fuel components, or that would require CUEF to step back from investments in alternative energy initiatives by global companies currently regarded as fossil fuel companies, would result in significant limitations on the CUEF’s ability to invest as successfully as in the past,” said the council in June in response to a report calling for fossil fuel divestment.

“Nick has done an incredible job in his time with Cambridge University,” Vice Chancellor Stephen Toope said in a release. “He has transformed the performance of our investment fund, enabling us to diversify our income in a way that has allowed the University to undertake developments which have greatly benefited our academic mission and our students.”

Tags: Cambridge University, Endowments, Nick Cavalla, Talisman Global Asset Management, William Pears Group

The $195 billion New York City Pension Funds will double its green investments over the next three years, Comptroller Scott Stringer and Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday.

The multi-year initiative will see the five-fund pension system increase its holdings in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and other climate-change solutions to $4 billion, or 2% of the mega-fund’s portfolio. These allocations will occur across all asset classes.

The move continues New York City’s crusade to fully divest from fossil fuels and other pollutants within five years as it aims to set a new standard for how asset owners can improve their performances while aiding the planet.

The pension system invests on behalf of all local teachers and other government employees.

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Stringer, who sits on the New York City Pension Funds’ board, touted the city’s sustainable investment push. “By pledging to double our holdings in climate solutions, we’re becoming an important part of that solution,” he said. He said his office will present its recommendations to the board as it shifts its investment decisions.

“We’re taking a stand for generations to come with our goal to double our pension investments in job-creating climate solutions,” de Blasio added, imploring other cities to follow New York’s lead.

Tags: Comptroller Scott Stringer, ESG, Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York City Pension Funds, Pension