The search is over.

Officials signed an agreement with Strategic Investment Group on Tuesday morning to manage GW’s $1.57 billion endowment, University spokeswoman Maralee Csellar said. The transition to the Arlington, Va.-based firm will begin immediately.

The University announced last spring that it would eliminate seven positions and turn to an outside firm to manage the crucial arm of its treasury department. That move will now make GW’s investment portfolio one of the largest in the nation to be managed by an outside firm.

Interested firms submitted proposals over the summer, and officials had initially planned to pick one by this fall.

GW’s deputy executive vice president and treasurer, Ann McCorvey, and David Green, associate vice president of financial operations and assistant treasurer, will stay on to work with Strategic Investment Group and help with endowment audits, Csellar said.

The University’s endowment grew 15 percent last fiscal year and now totals about $1.57 billion, following a trend as healthy markets have helped grow institutions’ nest eggs nationwide. GW has added nearly half a billion dollars to its endowment over the past five fiscal years, helping to pay for scholarships, faculty salaries and construction.