As Harvard’s and Yale’s private equity holdings go on sale, buyers can use this technique for 1,000% windfalls. ‘It makes your brain melt’

Harvard graduates dressed in red and black robes sit during their commencement ceremony. (Credit: Rick Friedman—AFP/Getty Images)

• The secondary market for private equity stakes is booming as buyers are eager to snap up assets being shed by investors. There’s reason to believe Harvard, Yale, and other elite institutions might be getting a good deal, even as they sell their holdings at a discount to current valuations. 

Some of the country’s most elite institutions are offloading parts of their private equity portfolios. As funds take longer to return money to investors, Harvard and Yale are selling at a discount with endowments looking for more liquidity and flexibility amid economic turbulence.