During a public discussion between one of the country's leading hedge fund managers and a New York Times financial columnist, Michael Abbott, Cornell's new chief investment officer, announced that Cornell's net gain this fiscal year is more than 15 percent so far. He reported on the university's investments April 6 to a group of alumni, parents and friends of the university gathered at The TimesCenter in New York City.

"It's not a bad result," said Abbott, who joined Cornell Nov. 1. "I think we could do better, but we're reasonably comfortable with where we are today."

The endowment is back up to about $5.2 billion, after a high-water mark of around $5.9 billion in early 2008. The year that followed the start of the recession was predictably rough: Cornell lost 25-26 percent and paid out about $250 million in addition to its normal annual payout. "Within 24 months to be back almost at the high-water mark I think is a pretty impressive performance particularly after having to liquidate a portion of the portfolio in less than ideal conditions," Abbott said.

Cornell's good news was a warm-up act of sorts to a conversation between two Cornellians well-versed in the investment world.

David Einhorn '91, president and chairman of the hedge fund Greenlight Capital, who also spoke at the event with Andrew Sorkin '99, New York Times financial columnist and author of the book "Too Big to Fail," said that if he were to rebalance the portfolio, he would start with 15-25 percent in gold. Einhorn, who famously predicted the fall of Lehman Brothers, noted that gold is something that "probably hasn't even been a consideration as a potential investment for the university and the endowment."

Einhorn said that he is interested most in long-term investments of more than two years, where most long-only investors focus on a horizon of six to 18 months. When Sorkin asked him why Greenlight Capital was down about 3.4 percent on the year while the S&P 500 was up about 5 percent, he explained that their investments play out over a longer period of time, and that the problem was entirely on the short side of the portfolio.

Regarding Cornell's investments Abbott noted, "The drivers of performance for 2010-11 have been our long-only portfolio." Their asset allocation is fairly traditional, he said, highlighting emerging markets, which have done extremely well, modest performance from hedged equity and private equity, which will do well over time but will take a bit longer to pay back. Abbott also mentioned that Cornell investors will be increasing their exposure to real estate and to resources, an area that he is particularly interested in because of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell.

"There is undoubtedly primary source information we can draw upon from this intellectual capital that we have within the university," Abbott said.

Peter Meinig '61, outgoing chairman of the Cornell Board of Trustees, cited several new efforts relating to the endowment, including what he described as an increased commitment to need-based student financial aid, such as loan reductions for eligible families. He encouraged the audience to look at the particulars of Cornell's strategic plan.

"We've re-examined many aspects of the university," Meinig said. "Not just how to cut our budget, but how to be a better university."

The event was sponsored by Cornell's Office of Investments and the Division of Alumni Affairs and Development.

David Kessel is a freelance journalist in New York City.