The University of California’s investments leadership reported steady fiscal‑year performance and outlined portfolio positioning and risks at the Investment Committee meeting on May 13.

Jagdeep Batcher, Chief Investment Officer for UC Investments, told the committee the system’s consolidated assets were near $188 billion to $190 billion and that fiscal‑year‑to‑date returns were driven by equities. “The blue and gold pool, 9.2%,” the team reported for its low‑cost indexed Blue and Gold Endowment Pool; the general endowment pool returned 7.2% and a blended total return across pooled portfolios was approximately 7.6% fiscal‑year‑to‑date as of the meeting.

Batcher and his senior team framed the committee’s priorities as liquidity management, measured private‑market exposure, and attention to macroeconomic risks. The investment office said the UC portfolio is about 10 percentage points underweight to private markets relative to prior allocations; the private equity portfolio was stated at roughly $17 billion. The office described that underweight position as advantageous for liquidity given recent secondary‑market activity across other endowments.

Speakers on the investment team emphasized the role of liquidity and the retirement savings program when discussing participant behavior. Marco Mers, who co‑heads UC’s retirement savings work on the public equities side, said the retirement savings program remains large relative to other public plans and that participant voluntary savings have edged down from about 11% to roughly 10.5%, though total average employee savings remains near 17–18% when automatic and voluntary contributions are combined. The team noted the retirement savings program is one of the country’s largest after the federal Thrift Savings Plan and reported an average management fee of about 0.05% on core plan funds compared with a 0.49% industry average cited by staff.

On risks, fixed‑income and macro staff warned about potential inflation persistence tied to tariffs and services‑sector dynamics. Satish Swamy said markets’ bond yields indicate skepticism that inflation will quickly fall to 2%; staff presented scenarios in which tariffs contribute to stickier inflation and slower growth, which could complicate Federal Reserve policy.

Panelists advised a “stay the course” posture for long‑term savers. The team said active rebalancing and limited tactical changes had occurred recently; the investment report noted a modest tactical reduction in small‑cap equity exposure in the most recent quarter and maintained a cautious stance on new private commitments. The office also highlighted the Blue and Gold Pool’s role as a liquid buffer: staff said the pool has grown to roughly $7 billion and has provided capital to campuses during prior stress events.

The Committee received the report; no investment policy vote or reallocation motion was taken during the May 13 session.