Brown University endowment records 2.7% gain

Brown University's $6.6 billion endowment returned a net 2.7% for the fiscal year ended June 30, surpassing its aggregate benchmark return of 1.9%.

For the three-, five-, 10- and 20-year periods ended June 30, the endowment returned an annualized net 14.1%, 13.3%, 11.3% and 9.8%, respectively, the university said in an Oct. 18 release.

Brown noted that its performance over the last three-, five- and 10-year periods ranked it in the top 5% of all endowment peers in each of those respective periods.

The endowment had returned a net -4.6% for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021.

Brown noted that while the endowment beat the benchmark in its latest fiscal year, it underperformed the S&P 500 index and other standard market indexes since a majority of such indexes "carry simpler asset allocations focused on stocks rather than alternative investments such as private equity and hedge funds."

The S&P 500 returned about 19.6% for the one-year period ended June 30.

According to data emailed by Brown, as of June 30, the endowment's allocation comprised 40% private equity, 21% absolute return, 15% public equity, 11% real assets and 7% each in fixed income and cash and receivables.