Norway's Central Bank Sues Citigroup for Stock, Bond Losses

The lawsuit is the latest in a string of legal actions against Citigroup and other large US institutions from investors who lost money in the economic downturn.

(September 27, 2010) — Norway’s central bank, which manages one of the largest sovereign wealth funds on the planet, Norway’s $473 billion Government Pension Fund, has sued Citigroup and its executives for losses.

Norway’s central bank sued Citigroup as well as 20 current and former Citigroup executives and directors, including the current chief executive, Vikram Pandit, and his predecessor, Charles Prince, over $835 million in losses in Citigroup stock and bonds. According to the complaint posted by the New York Times’ Dealbook, Citigroup misrepresented its financial condition and failed to disclose material information. The suit, filed on September 17 in United States District Court in Manhattan, accuses Citi of making “repeated material untrue statements and non-disclosure of material information to investors” between January 19, 2007 and January 15, 2009 that caused Norges Bank to purchase the securities at inflated prices.

The lawsuit is the latest in a string of legal actions against New York-based Citigroup and other large US institutions from investors who lost money in the financial crisis. Last year, for example, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) filed an arbitration against Citigroup, accusing the US bank of misleading the fund when it invested more than $7.5 billion in 2007.

“Citi’s near-demise had its genesis in the company’s increasing willingness to take on risk for the sake of profit, without regard for — and without disclosing — the magnitude of the downside exposure it faced if those risks materialized,” the bank said in the complaint.

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Citi denied the allegations. “We believe the suit has no merit and will defend ourselves vigorously,” a Citigroup spokeswoman said in a statement.

The Norwegian fund, into which the country invests its oil wealth for future generations, lost 23% of its value in 2008 as global markets tumbled. However, it has since recovered most of its losses.



To contact the <em>aiCIO</em> editor of this story: Paula Vasan at <a href='mailto:pvasan@assetinternational.com'>pvasan@assetinternational.com</a>; 646-308-2742

Yale University's Endowment Climbs 8.9% in Fiscal 2010

The US’ second-largest university endowment reported today that its fund rose to $16.3 billion in the year to June, yet remains well below its 2007 peak valuation of $22.9 billion.

(September 24, 2010) — Yale University, whose investment strategy has paved the way for endowments at other universities around the country, has reported that its investments rose 8.9% to $16.7 billion in the past year ended June 30.

Despite the positive news, the fund remains well below its 2007 peak valuation of $22.9 billion. “While real assets provide protection against inflation, which may prove beneficial in today’s highly uncertain global economy, in weak economic environments real assets tend to produce poor returns,” the university said in a statement.

The returns trail recent gains by Columbia and Harvard universities, whose endowments increased 17% and 11% respectively. While Yale’s investment return is in line with what administrators said they had expected, it falls short of the 13.3% average return of other endowments tracked by Wilshire Associates, a California-based investment consulting firm.

Jane Mendillo, chief executive of the Harvard Management Company, expressed her confidence earlier this month in Yale’s strategy, an investing style — pioneered by David Swensen — that helped endowments beat market indexes by relying on assets such as commodities, real estate and private equity. “Has the “endowment model” run its course?”, she said. “Our answer to that question is No.”

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According to a letter posted on the fund’s website, Yale’s equity-oriented portfolio contains the following asset allocation targets:

  • Private Equity: 33%
  • Real Assets: 28%
  • Absolute Return: 19%
  • Foreign Equity: 9%
  • Domestic Equity: 7%
  • Bonds and Cash: 4%


To contact the <em>aiCIO</em> editor of this story: Paula Vasan at <a href='mailto:pvasan@assetinternational.com'>pvasan@assetinternational.com</a>; 646-308-2742

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