David Swensen, the long-time chief of Yale University’s endowment, is known for his hedge fund and private equity investments—the so-called Yale model is heavy on alternatives. But the portfolio he oversees also includes direct investments in securities.
Thus in 2009, the endowment owned 7.3% of Toronto-listed American Bonanza Gold Corp. That year the stock went down steeply and traded at a small fraction of its price today. Presumably Mr. Swensen bought it around the low point.
In late 2011 he sold it. Yale no longer owns American Bonanza Gold. Is this a sign Mr. Swensen is down on gold? But no such view is necessary to account for the sale. It could be simple profit taking by the $19.4 billion endowment.
Looks like he sold near a high point several months ago. The stock has come down a bit since, though it remains several orders of magnitude higher than it was in 2009. Quite a trade for Yale.
HedgeFundSmarts 
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