Endowment of Harvard, America's Richest University, Hits $34.9 Billion

By Reuters | Science and Technology

Harvard University, already America's richest university, said on Tuesday its endowment grew to a new high of $34.9 billion, boosted by bets on emerging markets, real estate and private equity.

Returns for fiscal 2007, which ended June 30, grew 23 percent, significantly above the 16.7 percent gain posted for 2006 and the 19.2 percent gain reported for 2005.

Harvard, whose investments are closely watched in the asset management industry, also extended its run of beating its internal benchmark and besting the average university's investment returns.

The Ivy League school made headlines last month when it lost $350 million after Sowood Capital, a hedge fund run by a former Harvard employee with whom the university invested, collapsed.

What started with problems in the subprime mortgage market quickly spread and pushed global stock markets lower, hurting many funds, including Sowood.

The school said the Sowood loss would have translated into a decline of about 1 percent on a stand-alone basis.

But the portfolio actually gained 0.4 percent in July because of its positioning and strong risk management. John Longbrake, a university spokesman, declined to say how the portfolio was faring in August, as sharp moves in the yen, metals and stocks left some hedge funds with heavy losses and others able to turn July's declines into gains.

Go to full story

Posted on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 at 05:02:10 PM
Comments(0) | Trackbacks(0) | Send to a Friend | Related |

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

‹‹ Previous ··· Main ··· Next ››