The posting
2027 INVESTMENT SUMMER ASSOCIATE
Princeton University Investment Company (PRINCO)
The Princeton University Investment Company (PRINCO) is the entity within Princeton that manages the University’s $36 billion endowment. PRINCO is a leading investment management firm with a long history of superior performance. We seek to earn outstanding long-term investment returns in support of the University’s mission to advance learning through scholarship, research, and teaching of unsurpassed quality, and with a pervasive commitment to serve the nation and the world.
PRINCO invests primarily through partnerships with the world’s top external investment managers across an array of geographies and strategies, including developed markets equities, emerging markets equities, hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, real estate, natural resources, and fixed income. PRINCO employs a long-term approach to investing that reflects the permanent nature of our capital base and the perpetual time horizon of our single client, Princeton University. We collaborate closely with our partners, who range from some of the most elite and best-known investors in the world to up-and-coming emerging managers. We are often these firms’ first and/or closest partners, and we strive to deeply understand the people with whom we partner and the assets they own. We frequently co-invest or invest directly alongside them in both traditional funds and unconventional structures.
Our team consists of 18 investment professionals and total staff, including operations, of 49. We employ a generalist model that provides team members with exposure to a wide range of asset classes, geographies, industries, and business models. Our team ranges from veterans with decades of investment experience to recent college graduates, and we heavily prioritize mentorship and an apprenticeship approach to professional development. PRINCO is a collaborative organization that values open debate and independent thinking. All investment team members serve on our internal Investment Committee, which is empowered to make decisions on behalf of the University.
2027 Investment Summer Associate
PRINCO is seeking exceptional candidates to join the investment team as an Investment Summer Associate for a 10-week internship during Summer 2027.
Summer Associates will contribute to the sourcing, evaluation, execution, and monitoring of investments across PRINCO's global portfolio. As part of PRINCO's generalist investment model, Summer Associates will gain exposure to a broad range of asset classes, geographies, industries, and investment strategies while developing investment judgment and a deeper understanding of endowment investing. Summer Associates can expect to engage directly with investment strategies across public equities, private equity, venture capital, real assets, and/or other specialized strategies.
This internship provides an excellent opportunity to work alongside experienced investors, participate in investment discussions, and contribute meaningfully to the management of one of the world's leading endowments. Summer Associates will be integrated into the investment team, attend meetings with investment managers and company management teams, work on strategic projects, and participate in Investment Committee discussions.
Previous interns have:
- Analyzed the predictive accuracy of a credit hedge fund’s historic return forecasts across different interest rate environments as part of re-underwriting what size it should be in our portfolio
- Conducted end-to-end due diligence on an emerging markets venture capital firm’s proposed follow-on vehicle; prepared deep dives on individual companies to assess their attractiveness as later-stage investments and conducted a market-sizing analysis to assess the universe of large-scale venture outcomes in their market
- Attended a venture capital fund’s annual meeting, engaging directly with the investment team and portfolio company founders to assess portfolio progress
- Led portions of a team-wide investment committee discussion, including developing and presenting a section of the proposed investment recommendation
- Explored and evaluated the investment opportunity set in the Nordic region
- Travelled to London with colleagues to meet with European investment managers across multiple asset classes and strategies
Responsibilities
Summer Associates will engage in all aspects of the investment process and contribute to investment discussions and decision-making.
- Evaluate a wide range of prospective investment managers and investment opportunities across global markets.
- Conduct due diligence and develop recommendations through rigorous qualitative and quantitative analysis.
- Engage directly with managers, portfolio company executives, and industry experts. Summer Associates should expect to travel to meet managers at their offices and/or visit portfolio companies and assets with them, with potential opportunities to participate in both domestic and international travel.
- Develop investment memoranda, presentations, and other analyses to inform decisions.
- Contribute to formal and informal meetings and discussions by developing and articulating independent perspectives and asking thoughtful questions.
Qualifications
The ideal candidate will be current first-year MBA students, expecting to graduate in Spring 2028, and possess strong analytical, quantitative, and communication skills, along with a demonstrated interest in financial markets and investing. Candidates should enjoy working collaboratively while also being able to operate independently and take ownership of projects. Intellectual curiosity, sound judgment, and a willingness to engage in rigorous investment discussions are essential. Prior experience in investing, finance, consulting, corporate strategy, or other analytical fields is preferred but not required.
Application Process
Interested candidates should submit a cover letter, resume, and relevant transcripts (informal transcripts are permissible initially) by the deadline.
In the cover letter, please answer the following question:
What is an investment idea you find compelling and why?
Disclosures
PRINCO does not provide visa sponsorship or support employment-based work authorization now or in the future. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.
As of the date of this posting, the annualized salary for this position is $215,000. Posted salary ranges do not include incentive compensation or any other type of remuneration.
Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
The University considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's qualifications, work experience, education/training, key skills, market, collective bargaining agreements as applicable, and organizational considerations when extending an offer. The posted salary range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate for a full-time position; salaries for part-time positions are pro-rated accordingly.
If the salary range on the posted position shows an hourly rate, this is the baseline; the actual hourly rate may be higher, depending on the position and factors listed above.
The University also offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees. Please see this link for more information.
About Princeton University
Princeton University is a vibrant community of scholarship and learning that stands in the nation’s service and the service of humanity. Its educational mission is to prepare students to pursue meaningful lives and to help address the challenges of the future. The university provides its students with academic, extracurricular, and other resources that prepare them for positions of leadership and lives of service in many fields of human endeavor. Princeton provides instruction and engages in world-class research in the liberal arts, sciences, and engineering.
Princeton has an undergraduate college and a graduate school, with 105 departments and interdepartmental programs across seven colleges and schools. In the 2025-2026 academic year, Princeton enrolled 5,826 undergraduates and 3,280 graduate students. Princeton is committed to attracting and supporting talented students from throughout society, including students from groups that have been underrepresented in higher education. Our diverse student body hails from all 50 states and over 100 countries. The University pioneered a no-loan financial aid program in 2001 which it has enhanced multiple times since. Sixty-nine percent of undergraduate students in the Class of 2029 will receive financial aid with an average annual aid package of $80,000+. Total budgeted operating expenses for the University in the academic year 2024-2025 were approximately $3.287 billion, with sponsored research revenues in excess of $550 million.
As a global research university, Princeton seeks to achieve the highest levels of distinction in the discovery and transmission of knowledge and understanding. At the same time, Princeton is distinctive among research universities in its commitment to undergraduate teaching. Interdisciplinary work is vital to Princeton and is reflected in a full spectrum of academic programs. The ratio of full-time undergraduate students to faculty members is 5:1. Classes at Princeton are small and challenging, and undergraduates receive support to pursue independent scholarly work more typical of graduate level study at most institutions. Princeton provides undergraduates with intensive interaction—both within and outside the classroom – with some of the world’s most distinguished scholars. The faculty, consisting of 1,313 full-time, part-time, and visiting members as of Fall 2025, includes 32 recipients of the Nobel Prize in physics, literature, economics, and medicine. For more information about Princeton, please visit http://www.princeton.edu.
