The endowment of Harvard University returned 27.1% in fiscal 2026, according to the university’s annual report, released this week.
The world’s largest university endowment—managed by the Harvard Management Co.—grew to $68 billion at the end of June. In its report, the university attributed the returns to venture capital, public equities and hedge funds.
“FY26 represents a short-term return on a long-term portfolio,” HMC CEO N.P. “Narv” Narvekar said in a statement. “Nevertheless, it is reassuring to see it strengthen the endowment’s ability to support the University in the decades ahead.”
Harvard is also one of the few university endowments subject to a new federal excise tax on investment returns. Narvekar noted that the tax means that more will be required of the endowment to sustain the same level of support for the university.
During the fiscal year, the endowment distributed $2.6 billion to the university—approximately 30% of the institution’s operating revenue. Harvard noted that it had received $1.5 billion in philanthropic gifts, including $640 million intended for current use—the highest level of single-year current-use giving in the university’s history.
The fiscal 2026 returns arrived “as the substantially higher federal excise tax on net investment income takes effect in FY27. Strong returns do not diminish the tax’s long-term cost: the tax will redirect a meaningful share of investment gains that would otherwise support teaching, research, financial aid, and other purposes designated by donors.”
As of June 30, the endowment allocated 46% of its portfolio to private equity (including 31% to venture and growth managers), 29% to hedge funds, 14% to public equities, 4% to real assets, 3% to bonds and Treasury inflation-protected securities, 2% to other real assets and 2% to cash.
Harvard’s strong returns come as many higher education endowments’ reported double-digit returns as a result of exposure to SpaceX and other artificial intelligence names through venture capital managers.
Analysis from Markov Processes International found that SpaceX exposure provided an estimated 7.8-percentage-point contribution to the endowments returns.
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Tags: Harvard Management Co.