Editor’s note: This article is a humor column.
The University of Virginia Investment Management Company, or UVIMCO, is responsible for managing the University's more than $16 billion investment portfolio, including roughly $8 billion in endowment assets. However, all it took was one night for the entire endowment to be invested in tangible, thoughtful changes for student life.
On July 1, with the University's growing endowment requiring additional oversight, UVIMCO hired its newest investment analyst, Grant Fortune, a history major and long-time Wahoo fan. Fortune’s upbeat attitude, polished resume and seemingly prestigious Ivy League education made him an easy choice for the role. It wasn't until Fortune’s onboarding paperwork had been processed that UVIMCO Managing Directors realized his diploma was from Columbia College in Columbia, South Carolina — not Columbia University in New York.
The endowment is fueled by generous donations from alumni, wealthy benefactors and that one family whose last name appears on every building. Those donors’ contributions ensure the University can continue funding financial aid, groundbreaking research, endowed professors and the occasional construction project that no one asked for.
Determined to make an immediate impact, Fortune spent his first few weeks learning the basics of institutional investing. Holden Returns, UVIMCO Senior Analyst and Fortune’s boss, shared his initial impressions of the new hire.
“Grant is great. We had a lot of productive meetings where we'd circle back, level-set expectations and align on next-steps to create scalable solutions for stakeholder alignment,” Returns said.
When The Cavalier Daily asked for further comment, Returns said he would reconnect offline after "socializing the feedback internally," a process that sources confirmed would likely involve several completely pointless Teams meetings.
Despite numerous socializing internalizations with Fortune, UVIMCO senior management eventually realized that the fundamental purpose of an endowment had somehow never come up. Believing the purpose of an endowment was to "endow stuff," Fortune reportedly liquidated the University's entire $8 billion core endowment and immediately reinvested the proceeds into what he described as "actually important stuff students don’t know they need.”
Among the analyst's first investments was a $2.5 billion allocation toward expanding the football program, after Fortune's analysis revealed that the average student experienced a 400 percent increase in school spirit after storming the field following an upset win. While the report has not yet been publicly released, UVIMCO senior management's review of the findings reportedly led to one heart attack, two strokes and the immediate deployment of 13 University attorneys.
Another $2 billion was directed toward constructing a permanent therapy zoo on the Lawn after Fortune discovered that student stress was reaching unprecedented levels. The idea was inspired by a TikTok he saw featuring a goat tap dancing on people's backs while delivering personalized motivational messages. Upon further review, Fortune admitted he had become increasingly concerned that the video may have been artificial intelligence, particularly after noticing the goat had seven legs and the students appeared to have identical faces. If the video was AI-generated, Fortune acknowledged this would tragically alter the original investment thesis, as the University's newest wellness initiative may have been based entirely on a computer-generated goat.
The remaining $3.5 billion was allocated toward expanding financial aid after Fortune determined that the University's affordability crisis was caused by students not having enough money. His solution was simple — provide every student with additional funding until tuition no longer became a concern. When asked how the University would continue funding the program after the endowment had been completely depleted, Fortune explained that the payments could simply be "written off" and then reinvested back into financial aid, creating a never-ending money loop.
After presenting his strategy to the 13 University attorneys brought in to review the situation, three lawyers were reportedly hospitalized due to stress-related complications, while two others have since left the legal profession entirely.
Unfortunately, Fortune has been placed on immediate house arrest by UVIMCO, preventing The Cavalier Daily from obtaining a direct comment. Still, his influence on the University will not soon be forgotten, as students, faculty and administrators continue to navigate the lasting effects of his unprecedented approach to institutional investing.
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