Compensation Dips for HMC

Although it was another fruitful year for the top money managers at Harvard Management Company (HMC), new investment trends kept their compensation lower than in the past, the University announced this weekend.

The top money earner among this group, Philip Dubuque, made over $9.5 million for the fiscal year ending June 30. The top five managers received a total of about $41 million in compensation, as compared to $45 million in 1998.

And in 1998, top manager Jonathon S. Jacobson took home over $10 million, leaving soon after to start Highfields Capital, a high-stakes investment firm that specializes in hedge funds. Harvard committed at least $5 million to his new firm.

Fund managers' compensation is based on the percentage the endowment grew in the previous year. In 1999, Harvard made only 12.2 percent, compared to 20.5 percent in 1998. Over the past five years, Harvard has averaged a 20.1 percent return on its endowment.

Harvard was hurt this year by its inability to go all-out for venture capital funds. These funds invest in start-ups and had what HMC President Jack R. Meyer called "a great year."

But recently, the managers of some top venture capital funds have started capping the amount any one investor can sink into them in order to diversify their investor base. So HMC was unable to invest enough of the endowment in venture capital to fully capitalize on the bull market.

"This year, size really did hurt us," Meyer said in an earlier interview.

The overall economic growth had less impact on Harvard's gains because HMC was limited in the amount of the endowment it could invest in venture capital.

"It has a bearing on compensation," Meyer said, noting that his individual compensation was affected.

Since Harvard's endowment earned 7 percent less than the goal set by its managers, Meyer's compensation will drop this year, to $1.6 million.

"I did not have a good year," Meyer said.

He added that his individual portfolio managers fared better. In addition to Dubuque and Meyer, top money-earners include:

-David Mittelman, $8.95 million, working in fixed-income portfolio.

-Phillip Gross, $8.75 million, working in domestic portfolio.

-Robert Atchinson, $7.26 million, working in domestic portfolio.

-Jeffrey Larson, $5.03 million, working in foreign portfolio.

Almost all compensation at HMC is based on returns, in the form of bonuses for managers' performance in comparison to benchmarks for their individual portfolios.

HMC's system of compensation includes "clawback" provisions, which withhold portions of bonuses contingent on future performance. Managers could lose the withheld portions if future investments perform below benchmark.

"I think we have a fair and adequate compensation," Meyer said. "[Harvard money managers] get paid no more or less than they should."