Sat Oct 12 21:00:00 UTC 2024: ## Stanford University Endowment Reports 8.4% Return in Fiscal 2024, Lagging Peers
Stanford University announced Thursday that its primary investment vehicle, the merged pool managed by Stanford Management Co., returned 8.4% in fiscal 2024. While equities propelled the returns, private markets performance remained muted, mirroring the previous year’s trend.
Despite strong performance in publicly traded securities, the overall return trailed the median return of higher education endowments in the US, which stood at 10.1%. A benchmark 70/30 portfolio achieved a return of 13.5% during the same period.
Stanford’s CEO, Robert Wallace, acknowledged the lower performance from non-marketable assets, including private equity. “While private asset classes have detracted from recent performance, they have enhanced our results over longer periods and are likely to continue to do so in the coming decade,” he said.
However, Stanford’s five- and 10-year investment performance (9.9% and 8.6%, respectively) still exceeded the median return of US higher education endowments (9% and 7%, respectively).
The merged pool, which includes Stanford Health Care and Stanford Medicine Children’s Health reserves, holds a total of $42.8 billion in assets as of June 30, with the endowment representing $37.6 billion. The endowment, which supports academic programs and financial aid, distributed $1.8 billion in the fiscal year, funding over 21% of Stanford’s operating expenses.
This news comes as other prominent universities, like Brown and Columbia, reported higher endowment returns, reaching 11.3% and 11.5% respectively in fiscal 2024.
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