2008 Woodie Awards
Duke assets see high returns
By: Eugene Wang
Issue date: 10/15/07 Section: News
Last update: 10/15/07 at 6:43 AM EST
Last update: 10/15/07 at 6:43 AM EST
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Duke's endowment received a 25.6 percent return on its investments in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007, raising it from $4.5 to $5.9 billion. The return is the third highest among top U.S. universities. Yale University's and Amherst College's endowment returns surpassed Duke's with 28.0 percent and 27.8 percent increases, respectively.
The endowment's five-year return of 17.5 percent and 10-year return of 17.1 percent are the third and second highest in the country, respectively.
"[The Duke Management Company] has achieved a remarkable record over the past several years, with returns that rank consistently among the very best," President Richard Brodhead said in a statement. "These aren't just abstract numbers. Every percentage point represents many millions of dollars more for Duke to invest in financial aid, research programs, scientific infrastructure and other new facilities."
DUMAC manages the University's assets in three investment poolsÂ, the Long Term/Endowment Pool-the largest pool-the Employees' Retirement Pool and the Institutional Reinvestment Account.
David Jarmul, Duke's associate vice president of news and communications, said the specifics of DUMAC's investments are confidential. He added, however, that information on DUMAC's general investment strategy is available in the University's annual financial statement.
"It's fair to say that all large universities with endowments... invest their money in different ways," Jarmul said. "They're not going to put all their money into one stock. They try to have asset allocation across broad categories, but the magic is in the details. DUMAC has been just remarkably gifted in investing wisely."
The University's endowment performed significantly better than the Standard & Poor's 500 Index for the same time period, said Emma Rasiel, director of undergraduate studies in the economics department and an assistant professor of the practice in economics.
"[The endowment's performance] was phenomenal-a really outstanding return relative to the markets in general," she said. "[It] speaks very highly of the team that is managing the endowment."
Junior Jay Schulhof, president of the Duke Investment Club, said it is difficult for investors to consistently perform well. He added that large returns often come at increased risk.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 4
RB
posted 10/15/07 @ 11:39 AM EST
The question of what happened last year is interesting, valuable, and perhaps auditable, but the key question is what the value of the endowment is as of today (mid October, not late June). (Continued…)
Alexander Hamilton
posted 10/15/07 @ 11:48 AM EST
Let me see. Third highest rate of return of all colleges and universities over the last five years, second highest rate of return over the last ten years. (Continued…)
Reality
posted 10/15/07 @ 10:31 PM EST
The University's largest asset, its endowment, recently grew by more than $1 billion, creating opportunities for new programs, like slandering and libeling large groups of students and then paying each of them millions after expensive legal proceedings. (Continued…)
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