WSJ: Elite University Endowment Returns Soar Over 50%
Large college endowments have notched their biggest investment gains in decades, thanks to portfolios boosted by huge venture-capital returns and soaring stock markets.
The University of Minnesota s endowment gained 49.2% for the year ending June 30, while Brown University s endowment notched a return of more than 50%, said people familiar with their returns, which aren t yet public.
Meanwhile, Duke University over the weekend said its endowment had gained 55.9%. Washington University in St. Louis last week reported a 65% return, the school s biggest gain ever, swelling the size of its managed endowment pool to $15.3 billion. The University of Virginia s endowment reported a 49% gain. Universities returns may include portions of endowments, plus other long-term investments.
I wonder how the endowment of our small and formerly cute university has done? I suspect fairly well, given the circumstances. It follows a reasonable investment strategy last time I checked. They’re certainly not lavishing us professors with perks (beyond what we have come to expect, of course) but they’re going all in on DEI initiatives. We’re a private university, so it’s all rather hush-hush.