SANDRA ROBERTSON

SANDRA ROBERTSON 2008-05-01 Staff Writer When Cambridge University hired its first chief investment officer in November 2006 to make better use of its financial assets, it wasn't long before its archrival Oxford quickly followed suit. But when the school looked to appoint its first chief investment officer i

When Cambridge University hired its first chief investment officer in November 2006 to make better use of its financial assets, it wasn't long before its archrival Oxford quickly followed suit. But when the school looked to appoint its first chief investment officer in May 2007, the pressure was on to find one of the best in the business. Enter Sandra Robertson, who at the time was co-head of portfolio management at the Wellcome Trust, the world's second richest medical charity. Institutional names don't come much bigger than Wellcome, and Robertson had for years managed the trust's investment assets, including real estate, infrastructure, equities, buy-outs and venture. Prior to this Sandra was responsible for building and managing the Trust's private equity, direct and hedge fund portfolios. At the time the university did much to publicize their high-profile hire, and since then Robertson has put the school on the map as an institutional investor. The combined value of the endowment funds of Oxford's various colleges is around £2.7 billion ($5.3 billion; €3.4 billion). With such a large pool of capital at her disposal, Robertson has taken on a powerful position. And now that fund managers know Oxford is actively looking to invest its money, her phone line is probably often busy. One private funds lawyer recently called her, “one of the most famous women LPs around.” Last year Robertson was named one of the 100 most influential women in European finance by Financial News. Robertson is a graduate of Napier University in Edinburgh, a member of the investment committee of University College and a fellow of Oriel College in Oxford.