Cornell announced Wednesday that its endowment posted a 12.6-percent gain in fiscal year 2010, just a year after the endowment plummeted by 26 percent and threw the University’s finances into shambles.
The value of the endowment increased from about $4 billion at the end of June 2009 to $4.4 billion on June 30, 2010.
Cornell’s endowment during this time period outperformed the endowments of both Harvard and Yale, which reported gains of 11 percent and 8.9 percent, respectively. In fact, of the Ivy League schools who have announced endowment results, only Columbia beat Cornell’s performance with a 17-percent gain. The University of Pennsylvania saw an identical 12.6-percent return while Dartmouth’s endowment was up 10 percent.
Brown University and Princeton University have yet to announce their fiscal year 2010 endowment performance.
“These strong results were a consequence of asset allocation decisions made to protect the University during the financial crisis while also allowing for growth as conditions improved,” Cornell Director of Press Relations Claudia Wheatley said in an e-mail Wednesday.
“The portfolio is well-positioned to take advantage of opportunities that may arise as well as to continue to meet the needs of the University,” Wheatley said.
Original Author: Michael Stratford