University of Utah

The Investment Advisory Committee, chaired by Peter Trapa, oversees investment strategy for the University of Utah's operating funds. Trapa serves concurrently as Dean of the College of Science, an academic-administrative dual role characteristic of public university governance structures. Day-to-day investment staff are not publicly identified. The committee reports through the university's financial administration, which manages the treasury, real estate holdings, and affiliated investment foundations.

The university accesses venture opportunities through multiple channels — University of Utah Ventures, formed in partnership with Epic Ventures, targets early-stage companies, often drawing from university-based research commercialization. The University of Utah Research Foundation manages technology transfer and IP licensing, creating a pipeline of investable spinouts. Additionally, the Growth Capital Partners Foundation can make direct equity investments in private companies, a structure that avoids the constraints of direct university balance-sheet investing.

The university operates as both a limited partner and a direct investor. Its partnership with Epic Ventures for University of Utah Ventures implies a fund-commitment model alongside the venture firm, while the Growth Capital Partners Foundation enables direct equity stakes. The institution also holds direct real estate through University Real Estate Holdings and co-investment positions such as the Otro Capital joint venture in Utah Brands & Entertainment LLC.

Utah Brands & Entertainment LLC is a joint venture between the University of Utah and Otro Capital, a sports and media investment firm. The vehicle places the university directly into commercial sports, entertainment, and brand investments — a highly unusual posture for a public university endowment. The structure suggests the university holds an equity stake alongside Otro Capital, though specific deal terms and portfolio companies within the vehicle have not been publicly disclosed.

The University of Utah Growth Capital Partners Foundation is a university-affiliated foundation structured to make for-profit investments, including equity stakes in early-stage companies. This legal architecture enables the university to invest directly in private companies while maintaining separation from state-managed university funds, avoiding the restrictions that typically prevent public institutions from taking direct equity positions. It functions as a venture investment vehicle that operates alongside — but distinct from — the university's endowment pool.

Unlike most public university endowments that primarily act as limited partners in external funds, Utah operates multiple direct-investment vehicles: a venture arm with Epic Ventures, a sports and entertainment joint venture with Otro Capital, a growth-equity foundation, and a direct real estate operating company. It also holds physical operating assets like an AirMed helicopter fleet and a fixed-wing aircraft, along with an art collection of institutional scale. This hybrid public-university/operating-company structure is rare among state flagships and more closely resembles the investment architecture of a large private foundation.

The university maintains multiple philanthropic foundations, including the University of Utah Research Foundation, which manages technology transfer, and the Growth Capital Partners Foundation, which handles for-profit investments. These are legally separate entities from the university's operating fund and endowment pool, governed by independent boards but aligned with the university's broader financial strategy. The Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation has acted as a major donor and co-investor, further linking the university's investment activities with Utah's philanthropic community.