Yale University’s endowment posted a net return of 5.7% for the fiscal year ended June 30, the New Haven, Conn.-based university announced in an Oct. 25 news release.
The endowment size increased to $41.4 billion as of June 30 from $40.7 billion a year earlier, as investment gains totaled $2.3 billion and gifts totaled $231 million, which was partially offset by distributions of $2 billion to the university’s operating budget.
The most recent fiscal year return is the second lowest among the 32 college and university endowments whose returns for the period have been tracked by Pensions & Investments as of Oct. 25. The median return for the universe is 10.2%.
“Given our significant allocation to private assets, we expect to lag during periods of strong public market performance, particularly when exit markets for private assets are depressed,” said Matt Mendelsohn, chief investment officer, in the news release. “As always, we remain focused on achieving investment success over the long term, knowing that doing so is likely to bring stretches of short-term underperformance.”
Over the 10 and 20 years ended June 30, Yale returned an annualized 9.5% and 10.3%, respectively. Those returns exceeded the median return for college and university endowments by a respective 2.4 and 3 percentage points, according to the news release.
Yale’s endowment had posted a net return of 1.8% for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023.
