Brown University Endowment Returns 11.9% in Fiscal 2025

The endowment of Brown University reported an 11.9% investment return in fiscal 2025, which ended June 30, the university announced Friday. Assets of the endowment rose to $8 billion from $7.2 billion.

Investment gains totaled $853 million, with the endowment receiving $200 million from Brown University Health and $133 million in gifts. The university endowment contributed $352 million to Brown’s operating budget during the fiscal year, a 25% increase in funding over fiscal year 2024.

Brown ranked second among Ivy League institutions with an 11.3% return last year. Both the University of Pennsylvania (12.2%) and Harvard University (11.9%) have already announced comparable returns for fiscal 2025.

Over the past three, five, 10 and 20 years, the Brown endowment had annualized returns of 8.6%, 13%, 11.4% and 9.5%, respectively.

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“The Brown endowment’s ability to contribute to the University’s mission—to serve the community, the nation and the world by discovering, communicating and preserving knowledge and understanding in a spirit of free inquiry—has expanded over the last 10 years at an unparalleled rate,” Brown CIO Jane Dietze said in a statement. “Partnerships with accomplished external investment managers, expert guidance from Brown’s investment committee and support from our dedicated Investment Office team continue to serve as instrumental factors in that success.”

Per the university’s 2024 endowment report, the endowment allocated 42% of its portfolio to private equity, 21% to absolute return strategies, 13% to public equity, 12% to real assets, 7% to fixed income and 5% to cash and receivables, as of June 30, 2024.

In a statement, the university noted it would not be subject to an increase to the federal excise tax on university investment gains: The university will continue to stay in the 1.4% tax bracket, rather than the 8% bracket, in which several other large endowments will soon be grouped.