Bolstered by a 44% return in emerging market stocks and a 30% boost from real estate and PE, The Harvard University Endowment Fund returned 23% for the fiscal year ending in June. The Harvard Management Company grew assets under management by almost $6 billion to $41 billion during the year.
The Harvard endowment lost about 1% of its total assets ($350 million) when Sowood Capital Management, founded by ex-Harvard Fund foreign stock head Jeffrey Larson, failed bond markets 101 in July, lost half of its assets, and sold what was left of its portfolio to Citadel. Despite bond market academic probation, the Harvard endowment was up 0.4% in July.
Harvard survived the setback thanks to a "high degree of diversification." A microcosm of its undergraduate population, which consists of a bunch of rich kids of all creeds and colors, the Harvard Fund was diversified enough to weather the tough July market.
Harvard has beat the endowment return benchmark by almost 5% in the last five years, returning 18.4% compared to the 13.8% average annual return of the benchmark. Yale reports results next month.
Harvard's Fund Returns 23%, Boosting Size to $34.9 Billion [Wall Street Journal]
Posted by Blunt Smoke , Aug 21, 2007 3:30PM
I'd be surprised if future classes would help to do as well considering they're hired based on race/gender
Posted by Shek , Aug 21, 2007 3:41PM
I think we can safely assume that they are far less than 23 percent now
Posted by , Aug 21, 2007 3:52PM
How the hell did "the Harvard Fund was diversified enough to weather the tough July market", if all we have is the returns for the fund, fiscal yr ending in June????????
Posted by , Aug 21, 2007 4:02PM
good stuff
Posted by ttt , Aug 21, 2007 4:50PM
they also reported July, slightly up even with Sowood hit, if you read the article. They did not report August, I'm sure they're hurting this monrth
Posted by The Fake Bob Jones University , Aug 21, 2007 5:25PM
Harvard Business School graduates have destroyed more capital than any other business school's graduates. At least that's what's on the cornerstone plaque of the Jeff Skilling School of Business at Harvard.
MIT is running a close second and they aren't even a business school.
Posted by 10000 Men of Harvard , Aug 21, 2007 6:07PM
Not surprising, Harvard grads basically own/run Wall Street. The ones that didn't go to H send their progeny there.
Posted by Mebane Faber , Aug 22, 2007 4:02PM
I penned a blog post today examining how a simple timing system can approximate the returns of the top two endowments. You can check it out on my blog World Beta here:
http://worldbeta.blogspot.com/2007/08/endowowment.html
Posted by Are you for real? , Aug 22, 2007 5:27PM
1000 Maniacs: "Harvard grads basically own/run Wall Street."
Harvard douchetards get laughed at. They don't want to dirty their hands, their ability is non-existent, and they've got no sac. That combo (wimpy, incompetent, afraid of risk) with their oversized egos makes for fabulous consultants, insurance execs, and game show hosts. And celebrity limo drivers.
All your Harvard talk will do is impress some cheap Jersey golddigger ho at Moran's.