Yale Endowment Beats Harvard

Yale’s endowment outperformed Harvard’s during Fiscal Year 2002 (FY02), according to figures released yesterday by Yale’s Investment Office.

Earning a 0.7 percent return on investments, Yale’s endowment dropped from $10.7 billion in FY01 to $10.5 billion in FY02. The loss is attributed to $471 million in endowment spending.

Harvard’s endowment, based on figures released in an annual report by the Harvard Management Company last week, saw a 0.5 percent decline in investment returns during FY02. That loss, in addition to $750 million in spending offset by $100 million in gifts, caused the endowment to fall from $18.3 billion in FY01 to $17.5 billion in FY02.

Both universities significantly outperformed Harvard’s benchmarks of a 4.5 percent decline on investments.

During FY01, Yale’s $10.1 billion endowment increased to $10.7 billion, while Harvard’s fell for the first time in 17 years from its peak of $19.2 billion to $18.3 billion.