Are they in or out? Endowments, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds were all enticed into increasing their investments in private equity and hedge funds when the rising tide was lifting all boats.

Now, as the water level falls, the UK’s biggest charity, the Wellcome Trust, and the Harvard University endowment are putting large parts of their private equity portfolios up for sale. Permira, the UK-based private equity firm, and Carlyle Group of the US are offering to help investors stump up for funding commitments.