Among the Ivy League Schools that have reported their endowments’ annual returns for its fiscal year 2015, Cornell has posted the lowest at a paltry 3.4%.
To compare, the top earners were Princeton and Yale, posting 12.7% and 11.5% growth, respectively. The second-lowest was Harvard at 5.8%. Only Columbia has not yet reported its data, according to a Bloomberg report.
Cornell Chief Investment Officer Albert Edwards cited “challenging market conditions” but pointed out the endowment has grown to a record-high $6.3 billion with investment gains of $192 million and gifts of $188 million. In comparison, Harvard’s endowment is $37.6 billion.
Cornell’s endowment return in FY15 pales in comparison to the 10% annualized average of the past five years and 7.2% annualized average over the past decade. Over the same time period Cornell measured FY15, the SP500 grew at an inflation-adjusted 7.68% (9.80% measuring reinvested dividends).
According to estimates by Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service, the median return this year for endowments exceeding $500 million is 3.6%.
