Andy Ward

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago's endowment is managed by the University of Chicago Investment Office, with Andy Ward serving as the Chief Investment Officer. In this role, Ward oversees the management and strategy of the university's endowment, playing a critical role in ensuring the financial sustainability and growth of the university's assets. The University of Chicago's endowment is over $14 billion, making it one of the largest academic endowments in the United States. This endowment supports the university's diverse educational and research initiatives. In his role, Andy Ward is pivotal in developing and implementing investment strategies that ensure the growth and sustainability of these assets. Under Ward's tenure the team has put forth efforts to integrate diversity considerations into their investment processes. In 2010, the University of Chicago hired its first two Black-owned firms. With the guidance and insistence of John Rogers, the endowment now works with over two dozen diverse managers, responsible for over $1 billion — or greater than 15 percent of the total portfolio. The school’s efforts to increase the representation of female and minority managers in its portfolio over the last decade has been a success story.