David Swensen, the pioneering Yale University chief investment officer who died May 5, leaves behind a legacy built over more than three decades. Through June 2020, the Yale endowment generated a 10.9% annual return over a decade, and it nearly doubled the funds to $31.2 billion from $16.7 billion.
In fiscal 2020, the endowment shifted its asset allocation, increasing the weights for leveraged buyouts, venture capital, absolute return, and cash and fixed income. It decreased allocations to domestic and foreign equities, natural resources and real estate. Over the long term, Yale plans to invest about 50% of its portfolio in the relatively illiquid leveraged buyouts, venture capital, real estate and natural resources asset classes.
