Harvard’s 6.5% Return Lags Elite Peers After Strategy Revamp
- The biggest endowment saws its returns slide from last year
- More endowments are set to report performance in coming weeks
A sculler rows on the Charles River past the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg
This article is for subscribers only.
Harvard’s endowment, which is three years into an overhaul, is still trailing rivals.
The $40.9 billion endowment, the biggest in higher education, returned 6.5% in fiscal 2019, Harvard Management Co. reported Friday. Massachusetts Institute of Technology posted the highest number -- 8.8% -- among endowments so far this year. Nine funds that have reported share one thing -- gains are down from 2018.