Texas Endowment Managers Worry About What's Next

The mammoth endowment fund of the University of Texas is planning to double the $50 million hedge it maintains in an insurance fund against market downturns, officials said Thursday, Bloomberg News reported. Texas officials heard reports that a major financial crisis in Europe or involving the stability of the U.S. dollar could lead to a drop of one-fifth in the endowment's value. "None of us saw 2008, and this could be worse than 2008," said Gene Powell, chairman of the University of Texas Board of Regents.