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Columbia Endowment Achieves 11.5% Return in Fiscal 2024

In the latest rebound for an Ivy League pension, assets of Columbia’s endowment rose to $14.8 billion.
By Matt Toledo



The Columbia University Investment Management Corp., which manages the endowment of Columbia University, announced recently that the fund achieved an 11.5% return in fiscal 2024, the one-year period ending June 30.

In a statement, IMC President and CEO Kim Lew attributed the endowment’s returns to strong performance in the private markets. Lew also noted that the fund’s private assets lagged their benchmarks but delivered positive performance. 

“We continue to implement a deliberately paced re-positioning of the private portfolio, and we are optimistic that the current market cycle presents investment opportunities that will benefit performance in the long term,” Lew said in a statement.

Columbia, the second Ivy League endowment to report its 2024 fiscal performance, rebounded from what was a weak fiscal year in 2023 for most university endowments. Columbia had the highest-performing endowment amongst its Ivy League peers in fiscal 2023, returning 4.7%. In fiscal 2022, the fund returned negative 7.6%, the worst performance among Ivy League endowments.

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Dartmouth College recently posted an 8.4% return for fiscal 2024 following a 1.6% return in fiscal 2023 and a negative 3.1% in fiscal year 2022.

As of the end of fiscal 2023, the Columbia endowment allocated 30% of its portfolio to hedge funds, 26% to private equity, 24% to global equities, 14% to real assets, 4% to cash and 3% to fixed income. In fiscal 2024, Columbia’s endowment assets grew to $14.8 billion, based on a combination of investment returns and gifts to the university.

For the past five- and 10-year periods, the endowment returned an annualized 8.5% and 7.4%, respectively.

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Home > News > Alternatives > Cerulli: Institutional Investors Shifting Away from Active Strategies ‘in Favor of Illiquid Private Markets’ Assets
Alternatives

Cerulli: Institutional Investors Shifting Away from Active Strategies ‘in Favor of Illiquid Private Markets’ Assets

Asset allocators and other investors are shifting their risk budgets away from active strategies, according to a report.
By Matt Toledo



Investors are reallocating their risk budgets to illiquid private market investments, according to a report from Cerulli. The findings were a part of Cerulli’s September U.S. Products Trends report.  

“In conversations with institutions, Cerulli has found that many are reallocating their risk budgets away from traditional active strategies in favor of illiquid private market investments,” the report states.  

Institutional investors are also seeking more customization in investment products as they refine their investment strategies around principles such as environmental, social and governance standards, while also seeking to lower costs that come with private market investments.  

Approximately 19% of surveyed funds said they planned to increase their allocations to private comingled funds, another 18% said they planned to increase their allocations to co-investments over the next 24 months. 

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Cerulli reported Investors are seeking out exchange traded funds due to their lower cost, with 38% of institutional investors seeking to increase their allocations to ETFs over the next 24 months. Separate accounts, which offer investors greater customization, are increasing in allocations across investors, despite their search for lower costs, since these vehicles typically are associated with higher costs. 

“As private market exposures are more costly in aggregate, institutions with finite risk budgets must reallocate funds elsewhere to make up for the cost differential. An example of this would be reallocating funds from mutual funds to ETFs, two vehicles that are extremely similar in terms of underlying investment characteristics but vary in costs, with mutual funds generally costing more than ETFs,” the report states.  

Institutional investors expect to withdraw assets from mutual funds more than any other investment vehicle. According to Cerulli, 23% of investors plan to withdraw assets from mutual funds over the next 24 months. 

Cerulli notes that institutions will have to weigh the importance of cost effectiveness and customization, which can be influenced by the type of fund and resources available. For example, Cerulli notes in the report that only larger funds have the internal resources to make co-investments, which have lower expenses due to having more control over investments. 

“As institutions seek to reallocate risk budgets toward private market investments, their strategies around vehicle selection are paramount to securing adequate funds. While lower-cost traditional market vehicles allow institutions to achieve this objective, the pursuit of customization often can counteract the pursuit of lower-cost funds, blurring the otherwise clearer tradeoffs between vehicles,” the report states. 

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Active Investing Will Boost Endowment Growth Over Other Institutional Investors, Cerulli Forecasts 

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Passive Strategies Poised to Take Mutual Fund, ETF Market Lead 

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