SPDR Files ETF for UC's Simpler 90/10 Endowment Strategy

State Street Global Advisors, via its SPDR brand, has filed for a new ETF tracking the UC Investments 90/10 Endowment Strategy Index. The fund would package the University of California’s streamlined institutional approach-90% equities and 10% bonds or cash-for the retail market.

The strategy eschews alternative assets like private equity and hedge funds in favor of a passive, index-based allocation. UC’s Chief Investment Officer Jagdeep Singh Bachher championed this simple, low-fee philosophy, contrasting with the more complex endowment models of peers like Harvard and Yale.

UC’s Blue and Gold pool, launched in 2019 with an 80/20 equity-to-fixed-income split, has grown to roughly $7 billion and delivered a 15.8% return for fiscal year 2024-25. The proposed ETF is more aggressive, with a thinner fixed-income cushion.

While no ticker, expense ratio, or launch date has been disclosed, this filing challenges the conventional wisdom that sophisticated portfolios require complexity.