University Times

The University’s endowment stood at $3.52 billion at the end of fiscal year 2016, remaining at No. 26 in an annual survey of college and university endowments.

Pitt was among 805 U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities in the 2016 National Association of College and University Business Officers-Commonfund Study of Endowments (NCSE), released Jan. 31.

Harvard had the largest endowment, worth $34.54 billion; followed by Yale, $25.41 billion; the University of Texas System, $24.2 billion; Stanford $22.4 billion and Princeton, $22.15 billion.

Endowment returns
Endowments showed an average return of -1.9 percent (net of fees) for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2016.

Pitt’s endowment showed a return of -2.3 percent, predominantly due to double-digit declines in international equities performance. (See Sept. 29 University Times.)

Endowment returns declined across the board, ranging from an average of -1.0 percent for endowments under $1 million, to an average of -2.4 percent for endowments of $101 million-$500 million.

Pitt was among 91 institutions with endowment assets of more than $1 billion. Their FY16 endowment returns averaged -1.9 percent.

Endowment values
According to the survey, Pitt’s endowment ended FY16 down 1.8 percent from its FY15 market value of nearly $3.59 billion.

The average endowment in the 2016 NCSE was valued at $640.74 million, down 2.9 percent from the FY15 average of $659.83 million. The median endowment in 2016 was valued at $120.33 million, down 1.3 percent from the FY15 median of $121.92 million.

The change in market value includes withdrawals, management and investment fees, donor gifts and contributions and investment gains or losses.

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Pitt-Bradford
The Bradford Educational Foundation at Pitt-Bradford finished FY16 with a 2.4 percent decline in market value. According to the survey, it ended the year at $22.16 million, down from $22.71 million at the end of FY15.

—Kimberly K. Barlow