Harvard announced on Sept. 21 a $6.5 billion capital campaign to raise additional funds for research, teaching, renovating dormitories and resuming construction stalled by losses from the credit crisis. The University of Southern California had set the previous record target with a $6 billion campaign that began in 2011.
Many elite schools are benefiting from a rebound in both public and private markets, as well as the fact that they have a bias against investing in bonds, said Jim Neill, a managing director at Santa Monica-based consultant Wilshire Associates. Domestic fixed-income markets fell 0.7 percent through June 30 while foreign bonds were down 3.4 percent, he said.
“They were buying private equity and hedge funds well before they were on the radar screen of the average investor,” said Neill. “It’s really a lot of those private strategies turning the corner.”