Some of the smartest money in America is getting out of US government debt.

美国一些最精明的投资机构正在减持美国国债。

Many university endowments have scaled back their holdings of Treasury securities from as much as 30 per cent in 2008-09 to zero in some cases, say people familiar with their investment strategies.

了解大学捐赠基金投资策略的知情者称，许多此类基金已减持美国国债，有些已将美国国债的配置比例从2008-09年的高达30%减至0。

The sell-off reflects a big change in the way fund managers view US government debt. The traditional attraction of Treasuries for US investors was that they were certain to be repaid. But with interest rates at such low levels, investors worry that bond prices could fall dramatically.

减持反映出基金管理者对美国政府债券的看法发生重大改变。美国国债传统上吸引美国投资者的地方在于其肯定能够得到偿还。然而，鉴于目前利率如此之低，投资者担心，国债价格可能大幅下跌。

“Treasuries were a core holding,” said one university fund manager. “Now everyone is holding less than 5 per cent.”

一家大学捐赠基金的管理者称：“美国国债过去是一项核心资产。如今，大家都已将配置比例降至5%以下。”

The fear on campuses is that universities, which profited in recent years from the rally in Treasury prices, could be caught flat-footed by a reversal of the Federal Reserve’s low interest-rate policy.

近年来从美国国债价格回升中受益的大学捐赠基金担心，假如美联储逆转当前的低利率政策，自己可能措手不及。

“If you think you can change allocations quarter by quarter, and you believe rates will be low for longer, and you think you can make a quick switch, then maybe it is OK,” the university fund manager said. “But that isn’t the way we invest. Today government bonds should come with a warning about interest rate risk.”

上述大学捐赠基金管理者称：“如果你认为你可以一个季度一个季度地调整配置，并相信低利率会维持更久，而你有能力迅速改持其他资产，那可能没问题。但那不是我们的投资方式。眼下，政府债券应该带有关于利率风险的警告。”

Princeton’s $17bn endowment has converted its Treasury holdings to cash, according to published reports. Duke’s $5.5bn endowment has also shifted from Treasuries to US stocks with high dividends and emerging market equities, a person familiar with the university fund said.

一些已发表的报告显示，普林斯顿大学(Princeton)价值170亿美元的捐赠基金已将所持美国国债售出，改持现金。知情人士称，杜克大学(Duke)价值55亿美元的捐赠基金也已从美国国债转向一些高股息的美国股票和新兴市场股票。