Yale Endowment Returns 11.1% in Fiscal 2025, Tempered by Buyouts, Real Estate
The endowment of Yale University returned 11.1% in fiscal 2025, the one-year period ending June 30, the university announced late Friday afternoon.
Yale reported $4.5 billion in investment gains, and after factoring in $2.1 billion in distributions to support its operations, assets of the endowment rose to $44.1 billion as of the end of June, up from $41.4 billion at the end of the prior fiscal year.
The university endowment provided Yale with one-third of its operating revenue, the university said in a statement. Over the past 10 years, the fund returned an annualized 9.4%, exceeding that of a 70/30 portfolio by 2.2%, the university stated. Yale returned 5.6% in fiscal 2024 and 1.8% in fiscal 2023, following its 0.8% return in 2022, when almost every other peer institution suffered a negative return.
“Yale’s endowment is structured to support the university’s mission in perpetuity through prudent risk-taking and sustainable spending,” said Matt Mendelsohn, Yale’s CIO, in a statement. “Over the past decade, the university has spent $15.3 billion from its endowment, representing 60% of the endowment’s total value at the beginning of the period. This amount of operational support has been made possible by our strong investment results.”
Mendelsohn, in the university’s statement, noted that the endowment saw “tempered” returns from leveraged buyouts and real estate investments during the fiscal year and that despite a strong absolute return, it trailed public indexes during a time of strong market performance across asset classes.
“Diversification, disciplined risk management, and long-term partnerships with world-class managers will continue to best advance Yale’s mission across market cycles, and the endowment’s long-term performance and spending growth affirm the power of our approach,” Mendelsohn said.
Related Stories:
Princeton Endowment Returns 11% in Fiscal 2025