Bowdoin College endowment returns 0.6% for fiscal year

Bowdoin College's endowment posted a net return of 0.6% on assets of $2.4 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, a news release said.

For the three years ended June 30, the Brunswick, Maine-based endowment returned an annualized net 13.7%; for five years, 11.5%; and 10 years, 11.7%, said the news release, which didn't provide benchmark returns.

Each return was among the top 10% of comparative college and university returns according to Cambridge Associates data, the release said.

For the previous fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, the endowment had a net return of -7.1% on assets of $2.5 billion.

"It has been a difficult period for investors — including for Bowdoin — with the multiple headwinds of surging inflation, higher interest rates, a land war in Europe and a technology market unwind," said Safa Zaki, Bowdoin's president, in the Oct. 6 news release which didn't provide benchmark information.

"Against this challenging backdrop, our investment team, led by Niles Bryant, and our investment committee, have done an excellent job of protecting the value of the Bowdoin endowment and preserving much of the extraordinary gains recorded in fiscal 2021," Zaki said. The endowment recorded a 57.4% net return for that fiscal year. Bryant is senior vice president and CIO.

The news release didn't provide asset class returns or asset allocation information, saying only that investments are made in "domestic and international equities, fixed income, private equity, venture capital, real estate, and absolute-return strategies."

Representatives for the university could not be immediately reached for more information.