Columbia Investment Management Company
The Columbia Investment Management Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Columbia University in the City of New York, overseen by the Trustees of Columbia University. It's essentially a hedge fund disguised as Columbia's endowment. Actually, since it falls under a tax-exempt 501(c)3 non-profit parent, it is an asset manager's wet dream, as it is exempt from corporate and capital gains tax. It gets even better, since as Columbia's endowment spending rules prescribe a more-or-less fixed 5% spending rate each year, the asset managers at CIMC have significant flexibility in taking on long-term positions as there will be almost no unscheduled withdrawals and a very low rate of fixed drawdowns.
CIMC was formed in 2002, as part of Columbia's financial and institutional reorganization. It is currently headquartered on the 63rd floor of the Chrysler Building in midtown. Prior to that, it was in the Interchurch Center.
The CIMC equity portfolio consists of approximately (as of 2004) 4,000 equity and commodity investments. It is unknown what CIMC's positions and strategies are in fixed-income investments. Investments at the CIMC are subject to review and guidance from the Committee on Socially Responsible Investing (bleeding-heart liberals who actually think that divesting Columbia's pittance will save Darfur or North Korea or end the war in Iraq).
CIMC is headed by President N. P. Narvekar, who reports directly to the Trustees.
