ENDOWMENT WARS: Yale Beats Harvard Big Time, But Trails Other Ivies
Posted on 10/15/2021
Yale’s endowment reported a 40.2% investment return, net of fees, for the year ending June 30, 2021, earning US$ 12.1 billion in investment gains. The Yale endowment value increased from US$ 31.2 billion on June 30, 2020 to US$ 42.3 billion on June 30, 2021. This is the highest rate of return since 2000.
Harvard Management Corporation returned 33.6% for the same fiscal period and its private equity allocation delivered a 77% annual return with public equities at 50%.
Yale Investment Office vs. Harvard Management Corporation
| Fiscal Year – June 30 | Harvard University Annual Returns | Yale University Annual Return | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2021 | 33.60% | 40.20% | Yale |
| Jun 2020 | 7.30% | 6.80% | Harvard |
| Jun 2019 | 6.50% | 5.70% | Harvard |
| Jun 2018 | 10% | 12.30% | Yale |
| Jun 2017 | 8.10% | 11.30% | Yale |
| Jun 2016 | -2.00% | 3.40% | Yale |
| 5-Year Average | 13.10% | 15.26% |
However, Yale and Harvard did worse than many of their peers. With regard to Ivy league universities, Brown University returned 51.5%, Dartmouth College returned 46.5%, Cornell University returned 42% and the University of Pennsylvania returned 41.1%.
Other notable colleges that beat Yale include Washington University in St. Louis at 65%, Duke University at 55.9% and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 55.5%.
