U.S. college endowments suffered the worst annual performance in three years, dragged down by tumultuous equity and bond markets, plummeting oil prices and economic weakness in Asia, according to an industry survey released Wednesday.
The 2.4 percent gain reported by the National Association of College and University Business Officers and money manager Commonfund in Wilton, Connecticut, for the year ended June 30, 2015, compares with a 4.6 percent return in the Standard & Poor’s 500-Stock Index. In the prior 12-month period, schools saw a 15.5 percent return on average.
“This was a year in which we saw reversals -- all asset classes performed less well than the year before,” William Jarvis, executive director of the Commonfund Institute, said on a conference call.
Wealthier schools beat their smaller counterparts, according to the survey of 812 institutions with combined assets of $529 billion. The performance was the worst since a 0.3 percent decline in fiscal 2012.
Domestic equities produced an average gain of 6.4 percent in fiscal 2015, well below the prior year’s 22.8 percent return, according to the survey. Commodities and managed futures lost 17.7 percent compared with a 7.9 percent gain in fiscal 2014. Energy and natural resources were down 13.3 percent against a gain of 15.3 percent from the year prior. International equities fell 2.1 percent but posted a return of 19.2 percent in fiscal 2014.
The best performance came from venture capital at 15.1 percent and private real estate at 9.9 percent.
Overall, universities saw 10-year average returns fall to 6.3 percent as a result of the tepid performance, well below what most say they expect to earn over time, according to the report. That’s a great concern because schools count on endowment earnings to help pay for academic operations, said John Walda, chief executive officer at the membership organization based in Washington known as Nacubo.
School Missions
“Lower returns make it even tougher for colleges and universities to adequately fund financial aid, research and other programs that are very reliant on endowment earnings and are vital to institutions’ missions,” Walda said in a statement.
Still the survey showed schools closely managing their payouts, with the average spending rate falling to 4.2 percent in 2015 from 4.4 percent in the year prior. While foundations are required by law to disburse 5 percent a year, endowments face no mandates though some in Congress want rules to increase financial aid outlays to combat rising tuition and student debt burdens.