The mission of the Office of Investments is to preserve and grow the endowment and its income distribution capability in perpetuity to support the educational mission of Trinity University.
The Office of Investments is responsible for the stewardship of Trinity University's endowment and executes investment policies set forth by the University Board of Trustees and Investments Committee. The office makes asset allocation decisions for the endowment’s globally diversified portfolio of investments and hires and oversees the portfolio’s external investment partnerships.
We seek to deliver outstanding long-term investment returns by partnering with world-class investment managers who possess superior investment judgment and a well-defined investment process with durable competitive advantage that can compound capital over time.
The Endowment
Overview
The Trinity University endowment is a globally diversified, $1.7 billion (as of May 31, 2022) investment portfolio with investments across:
enture capital
Real assets
Hedge funds
Fixed income
Endowment Breakdown
The endowment consists of the University’s Long-Term Investment Pool (“LTIP”) and Funds Held-in-Trust (“FHIT”). The LTIP is managed by Trinity University’s Investments Committee and Office of Investments, while the FHIT are managed by third parties on behalf of the University.
The Long-Term Investment Pool consists of 624 individual endowed funds. Approximately 58% of those funds constitute true endowments, which are gifts restricted by donors to provide long-term funding for designated purposes. The remaining funds represent quasi-endowments, which is money that the Board of Trustees designates for key University purposes. The 624 endowment funds are broadly categorized and support many areas across the campus, including student scholarships, faculty and professorships, buildings and grounds, and athletics.
In order to maintain transparency in our investments, Trinity University has developed a Statement of Investment Responsibility that will help guide our investment decisions.
TRINITY UNIVERSITY
Endowment Report
Read the 2021-22 Endowment Report for an overview of endowment performance.
The contents contain general information and may not reflect current or future developments.
Meet the Team
Strengthened by its members’ diverse backgrounds in finance, accounting, investing, and management, Trinity’s Office of Investments team oversees the endowment and collaborates with various other University offices and external parties to best develop and manage it.
Craig Crow
Chief Investment Officer
ccrow@trinity.edu
LinkedIn
Craig D. Crow joined Trinity University as its inaugural Director of Investments and is responsible for overseeing the Office of Investments and Trinity’s investment portfolio. He has extensive experience with asset allocation, risk and liquidity management, and sourcing and developing relationships with the University’s investment partners. Prior to joining Trinity, Craig worked for Rice Management Company, J.P. Morgan's Asset Management division, and Miner Holding Co.
Michael McKinnerney
Director of Endowments
mmckinne@trinity.edu
LinkedIn
Michael McKinnerney joined Trinity University in August 1992. He is responsible for overseeing the operations of the Office of Investments and managing the mineral and real estate holdings. He has played an essential role in the growth of the endowment from $317M in 1992 to $1.5B at the end of 2020, supervising over 600 endowments, managers, and trusts in addition to collaborating with several offices and committees throughout the years.
Alison Hermann
Investment Manager
ahermann@trinity.edu
LinkedIn
With experience investing across asset classes, Alison joined Trinity University in 2019. She focuses on monitoring, due diligence, sourcing investment managers of all mandates, and the continued institutionalization of the Office of Investments. Previously, she was a member of the Marketable Alternatives team at UTIMCO and worked at Austin Capital.
Lynn Newman ‘93
Senior Investment Accountant and Operations Specialist
pnewman@trinity.edu
Since joining Trinity in January 2014, Lynn has spent her career working in various roles involving cash management, investment accounting, audit support, and operational support. She currently focuses on the performance and accounting of the endowment portfolio and interactions between the Investment Team, Endowments, Business Office, and the Investment Fund Managers.
Chase McAdams
Investment Analyst
cmcadams@trinity.edu
Chase joined Trinity’s Office of Investments in October 2021 as its first investment analyst. Most recently, he was a Presidential Management Fellow at Johns Hopkins University Investment Office, focusing on market risk and analytics.
Felicia Velasco
Minerals Analyst
fvelasco@trinity.edu
LinkedIn
Felicia Velasco joined Trinity University in 2016 with a background in mineral management. She is responsible for the daily monitoring and accounting of royalty income and portfolio management tracking metrics for the mineral and surface properties for Trinity University, Gretchen C. Northrup Foundation, and the McLean Foundation Revocable Trust.
Internships
The Office of Investments recruits one exceptional student intern each year to complete a summer internship that grants participants an unparalleled opportunity to discover and manage Trinity’s endowment.
This program further aligns the endowment with the University’s educational mission and offers mentoring opportunities and major-related skills, with the goal of supporting Trinity’s experiential learning ventures.
My internship as an analyst working in Trinity's Office of Investments was a terrific opportunity to grow my knowledge about investing and managing a large portfolio across several key asset classes. Contributing to the continued success of the university gave my experience meaning and made the operations and performance of the Endowment consistently compelling. I strongly feel that this experience has prepared me best for a successful career going forward.
How to Apply
Log onto Trinity’s Handshake job portal to learn more about the internship and how to apply.
Application submissions open in February.
Contact Us
If you are an investment manager or service provider seeking to build a relationship with Trinity, we are grateful for the inquiry. We are always interested in new investment opportunities or making new connections with prospective partners and carefully review all inbound emails. However, please be advised our relationships tend to be long-term in nature and provide for infrequent turnover to the portfolio. As a practical matter, the small size of our investment team may limit our responsiveness to matters not directly related to existing investments, key stakeholders, or current portfolio initiatives. To the extent that we do not have the opportunity to speak or our response to your inquiry is untimely (or nonexistent), please accept our humble regrets.
If you would like to submit an investment opportunity for review, please email prospects@trinity.edu.
INVESTING IN OUR COMMUNITY
Our top endowment priority? Student success.
Ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion is a major priority for Trinity University. To help meet this goal, Trinity seeks to guarantee funding for every qualified student.
“Thanks to the financial support package I received from Trinity University, I was actually able to become a much better person than I ever thought I’d be able to become. I know I'm just not a number. I have an identity here, and I can make a change in my community. I want to lead by example to show other students back home that at an early age, if you work hard, you can make it in life and defy all the odds.”