Cornell Endowment Returns 8.7% for Fiscal 2024

The Cornell University Office of University Investments, the entity that manages the school’s endowments, achieved an 8.7% return in fiscal 2024, the university announced on Tuesday. With $890 million in investment gains, assets of the endowment grew to $10.7 billion, as of the end of June.

“The university endowment achieved a strong gain in FY 2024,” said Cornell CIO Kenneth Miranda in a statement. “The endowment is intergenerational in its time horizon, and we will continue to maintain the diversification and long-term structure necessary to withstand changes in market conditions.”

The endowment returned 3.6% in fiscal 2023, the second-highest-performing mark of Ivy League endowments that year, and returned negative 1.3% in fiscal year 2022. The endowment has returned an annualized 10% over the past five years, outperforming its benchmark of 9%.

As of March 31, the endowment allocates 53% of its portfolio to equities (including both private and public), 25% to defensive assets, 16% to real assets and 6% to quasi-equity. Miranda noted that public equities were drivers of performance during the year.

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Cornell is the latest of its Ivy League peers to report endowment returns for the fiscal year, following Dartmouth (8.4%), Columbia (11.5%), Brown (11.3%) and the University of Pennsylvania (7.1%).

In fiscal 2024, the Cornell endowment provided $411 million to pay for university expenses such as financial aid, research, faculty salaries, facilities and academic programs.

“The Office of University Investments will continue to seek to preserve and grow the real value of the endowment to support the university’s mission,” Miranda said. “Our diversified portfolio, experienced investment team and rigorous processes position the endowment well to achieve these goals.”