Ivy Endowments Turn Upward

On the heels of an abysmal year for money managers in 2009, university endowment results released in recent weeks show strong investment returns for the year ending June 30, 2010, although different forms of asset allocation have led to significant variations in performance between different schools.

Endowments that invested more heavily in publicly traded assets tended to see stronger returns than those that remained heavily involved in less liquid assets.

Columbia reported the strongest growth among the Ivy League members that have reported results. The school posted a 17.3 percent return that beat internal and market benchmarks and was bolstered by an asset allocation that favored stocks and bonds.

Harvard’s endowment, the largest in higher education, grew by 11.4 percent to $27.4 billion.

“Funds that had more exposure to public equities, to public fixed income have done very well over the last 18 months,” said Michael C. Schlachter, a managing director of Wilshire Associates, a consulting firm that tracks endowment performance. “Those funds that had more allocation to real estate and commodities have done less well.”

Yale, whose 8.9 percent endowment return was the lowest of Ivy League schools that have released figures, has remained committed to real estate and private equity investments that have not recovered as quickly as other sectors of the economy, most notably publicly traded equities.

Only Brown and Princeton have yet to release their financial results.

Since universities’ investment horizons are more long-term than other investors in the market, they have tended to invest more heavily in illiquid assets than other large funds. But during the financial crisis, it became evident that several institutions overloaded their portfolios with such assets, leading to huge losses during the market crash of 2008.

Universities have since begun to restructure their portfolios. Harvard, for example, has moved to increase its cash allocation and has sold portions of its real estate portfolio.

Given the University’s reliance on the endowment, which supplies 38 percent of its operating budget, money managers must provide $1.5 billion in cash each year, according to University President Drew G. Faust. That means Harvard Management Company can not take an entirely long-term view, she said in an interview earlier this month in reference to whether Harvard would consider retooling its investment strategy in the aftermath of the economic downturn.

In her annual report released earlier this month, HMC President and CEO Jane L. Mendillo said that while the University has decreased some of its capital commitments to private equity funds, she had also strengthened relationships with certain managers in the sector.

According to Schlachter, private equity markets represent an opportunity for large institutional investors with connections to top fund managers. After the private equity markets cratered, many large funds have retreated from the asset class and opportunities for good deals—and access to the best managers—abound.

“In 10 or 12 years, people may look back and say those vintage years of 2010 were a fantastic time because there was so much opportunity for skilled managers,” said William F. Jarvis, managing director of the Commonfund Institute, which researches endowments and investment management.

—Staff writer Elias J. Groll can be reached at egroll@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer William N. White can be reached at wwhite@fas.harvard.edu.