Dartmouth Chief Investment Officer David Russ has been hired to head Credit Suisse's new Investment Strategies and Solutions group beginning June 1, the banking company announced on Tuesday. Russ left the College about five months after Dartmouth reported an 18-percent decline in its endowment due to the global economic recession.
Russ has served as the College's CIO for the past four years, a period during which the endowment grew by $1 billion and posted gains as high as 23 percent prior, according to a statement from Adam Keller, Dartmouth vice president of finance and administration.
"Students, faculty and the entire Dartmouth community have benefited from David's excellent management and leadership," Keller said.
In a February interview with The Dartmouth, Russ discussed how the College's investment team was working to increase investments in illiquid assets in light of the economic downturn, unlike many of the College's peer institutions.Dartmouth's investment team and the Board of Trustees strongly believe that investing in illiquid assets, holdings like private equity that cannot easily be converted into cash, will be rewarding in the long run, Russ said at that time.
"If you look back at the very long history of the endowment, returns that have accrued from the venture capital and private equity portfolio are the highest of any of the asset classes, but it takes patience," Russ said.
Prior to joining the College, Russ was the treasurer of the Regents and VP for Investments in the Office of the President at the University of California, according to the Credit Suisse release. Russ is also a member of the Executive Advisory Board of the Tuck School of Business Center for Private Equity and Entrepreneurship.
Russ was unavailable for comment Tuesday evening, according to College spokesman Roland Adams.
Related article:Endowment shielded by investment choices (Feb. 27, 2009)
