Investment in the Cambridge University Endowment Fund (CUEF)

On this page:

• What is the CUEF
• Unit purchases and sales
• Distribution from the fund
• Department holdings summary
• Annual report  

What is the CUEF?

The Cambridge University Endowment Fund (CUEF) is a unitised fund consisting of a variety of assets including equities and investment property. Investors (departments) buy a number of units in the fund - the number purchased depends on the funds available and the unit valuation at the purchase date.

This fund aims to provide long-term capital growth plus a quarterly distribution. Please note only funds being held for long term investment e.g. at least five years are suitable for investment in the CUEF because the capital value of this type of investment can go down as well as up, especially in the short term. The Treasury & Investments team must approve all investments.

Key features of the CUEF include:

• A quarterly distribution calculated per unit per annum to investors
• Potential for long term capital growth
• A quarterly fund and unit revaluation
• Quarterly opportunities for sales and purchases of units

You may only invest surpluses on the sources of funds specified below.

Due to the complexity of the accounting involved, the Treasury & Investments section, Finance Division, processes all transactions (including sales and purchases of units) relating to the CUEF. 

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Unit purchases and sales

Unit holders register their intent to buy or sell prior to the quarter date and are advised of the unit valuation once calculated.

The CUEF accounting quarters are as follows:

• 30 September
• 31 December
• 31 March
• 30 June

If you wish to purchase or sell units in the fund, please submit your request in writing to cuefpands@admin.cam.ac.uk. Late request will not be included.

To improve the accuracy of department accounts the Treasury team now enter an accrual for purchase and sale requests at the quarter end. The value is based on the last known unit value and will be removed once the final unit value is known. 

For detailed information on the CUEF unit values, yearly distribution and timetable, refer to Cambridge University Endowment Fund information | Finance Division.

Contract notes (forms that confirm your decision to buy/ sell units) are produced by Treasury & Investments and sent to investors detailing purchases and sales once processed. 

The final unit revaluation and trades are reflected in the General Ledger three months after the trade i.e. the 30 December valuation and purchases and sales will appear in the GL by the close of March. The exception to this is 30 June which will appear in the GL by the close of July. 

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Distribution from the fund

The CUEF distribution is credited to investors quarterly at the agreed rate for the University's Financial Year.

The income is credited to accounts holding CUEF units under the transaction code NAAA, by the fifth working day of the month end period, on a quarterly basis.

With the CUEF distribution being paid quarterly the Treasury team post a monthly distribution accrual in department accounts to release the income equally over the period.

To view the total value of your distributions use the Cognos GL: Budget to Actual report, with appropriate transaction code(s) selected.

NB: If you run a report which includes Transaction Code XHAB [Investment Revaluation Reserve], please note that this is an accounting book entry that adjusts the balance taken into the next financial year by the appropriate amount. Departments do not need to do anything about this.

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Department holdings summary

Twice a year, departments are sent a summary of their unit holdings as at 31 December and 30 June.

Alternatively, departments can run the UFS Transaction Code Balances report at any time to obtain this information. To display the actual number of units held or transferred, the currency field in the UFS report parameters must be changed to STAT. Your total holdings value can also be displayed using the same report but setting the currency field to GBP. Unless requiring the number of units, it is recommended that Cognos is used for reporting.

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Annual report

An annual Investment management report of the CUEF is produced each year end.. This report presents the results for the year, details of the asset allocation of the fund, commentary on performance and records historic performance. If you would like to obtain a copy of the report, contact Treasury and Investments.

For further information about the CUEF please contact the Treasury and Investments Section, Finance Division:

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Latest version 15 April 2024