The endowment of Columbia University returned 18.3% in fiscal year 2026, the university announced Tuesday. The last of its Ivy League peers to report performance, assets under management by the university rose to $17.9 billion at the end of June.
Over the past five and 10 years, the endowment reported annualized returns of 7.5% and 9.9%, respectively.
Kim Lew, president and CEO of the Columbia University Investment Management Co., which oversees the university’s endowment assets, attributed returns to strong equity markets, hedge funds, and venture capital.
“Fiscal year 2026 was the fourth consecutive year of double digit returns in global equity markets, and our investments in global equities performed in line with this year’s strong returns,” Lew said in a statement. “Notably, a strong driver of performance for the university in fiscal 2026 was our hedge fund portfolio, which substantially outperformed the benchmark. Columbia’s hedge fund managers had exceptional outperformance due to both sector, particularly AI-related exposure, and geographic exposure.”
Lew noted that the endowment is enthusiastic about private investment opportunities but will continue to be selective because of high valuations in the asset class.
As of June 30, 2025, the endowment allocated 35% of its assets to global equities, 26% to both private equity and absolute-return strategies, 9% to real assets, 3% to cash, and 1% to fixed income.
Tags: Columbia University, Columbia University Investment Management Company