Harvard University's endowment, the largest in higher education, cut by two-thirds its direct holdings of publicly traded stocks and funds during the market plunge in last year's fourth quarter.

As of December 31, Harvard Management Co., which oversees the endowment, held about 70 stocks and publicly traded funds that were worth $571m (€443.7m), according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Three months before, the endowment held about 200 stocks and other vehicles worth just under $2.9bn.