Fearing unstable international financial markets and the possibility of high inflation, Texas' higher education investment managers have bought more than $500 million in gold. The gold purchases represent only 3 percent of the University of Texas Investment Management Co.'s $22.3 billion in investment funds, but it indicates how deeply the fund managers are concerned about the global financial future.

With the state's endowment funds designed to generate a 5.1 percent distribution each year to the University of Texas and Texas A&M University, it is rare for the investment managers to put large sums of money into a commodity whose value usually only grows through inflation.

"Recently, we've added 3 percent, 3 percent of our portfolio, into gold as a protection against inflation, but even more as a lack of confidence in financial markets due to extraordinary government fiscal and monetary stimulus," UTIMCO CEO Bruce Zimmerman told the University of Texas board of regents Wednesday. "I wish I could tell you the future looked rosy. Unfortunately, that's not our view. At best, we believe the future is uncertain."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7108909.html

Bron: Chron.com - Houston Chronicle