College investment officers are worried that their institutions’ tight finances put them at risk for a credit-ratings downgrade, a new survey has found. The officials’ biggest concern: a lack of diversification in their investment portfolios.

The survey, conducted by SEI, an asset-management company in Oaks, Pa., included 57 executives overseeing college or university endowments, with assets ranging from $25-million to more than $1-billion.

Credit ratings determine how much interest organizations must pay when they borrow money or issue bonds. (Those with a higher rating pay less.) The ratings are also an indicator of an organization’s financial health.

Not all higher-education institutions have a credit rating. Among the institutions represented in the survey, nearly three-quarters do have such ratings and more than half had taken on debt in the past 12 months.

While none of the institutions in the survey had experienced a credit downgrade in the last 12 months, almost all of the officials (97 percent) said their institutions’ financial state put them at risk for such a demotion.

Among the problem spots indicated by the respondents, nearly one-third said a drop in income from fund raising was a concern.

But the greatest concerns focused on the institutions’ investment portfolios.

Eight-four percent of the respondents said credit agencies would look unfavorably at a lack of diversification, and 65 percent said that a lack of liquidity could lead to a credit downgrade.

Two-thirds of the participants did not feel that poor investment performance would result in a downgrade.

A complete summary of the poll is available by sending an e-mail message to seiresearch@seic.com. —Debra E. Blum

Note: This article was cross-posted from the Web site of The Chronicle of Philanthropy.