Endowment
Harvard’s Endowment Shined in 2024. But It Masks a Longstanding Gap With Ivy+ Peers.
The value of Harvard’s endowment grew in value in fiscal year 2024 for the first time in three years. But financial experts and Harvard affiliates expressed concern about the endowment’s long-term performance, which has underperformed compared to other Ivy+ schools and the S&P 500.
Harvard Endowment Jumps to $53.2 Billion, Delivers 9.6% Returns in 2024
The value of the endowment grew to $53.2 billion after the Harvard boasted a 9.6 percent return on its investments in fiscal year 2024.
Donations to Harvard’s Endowment Drop by More Than $150 Million
Total philanthropic contributions fell by 14 percent in fiscal year 2024 as several billionaire donors publicly severed ties with Harvard over its response to campus antisemitism.
Harvard President Garber Meets With Pro-Palestine Activists About Endowment
Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine activists met on Friday with President Alan Garber and Harvard Corporation Fellow Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar ’93 for a discussion about the endowment.
As Protests Raged, Harvard Founded Its Own Management Company
In the fall of 1973, Harvard’s treasurer decided the University should control its own purse strings.
Critics Says Harvard’s Endowment Is Underperforming and Overly Secretive. Is It?
The lackluster performance of Harvard’s endowment — the largest in the world — has sparked concerns about the stewardship and transparency of the endowment under Harvard Management Company CEO N.P. “Narv” Narvekar.
The State Legislature Is Considering an Endowment Tax. Experts Say It Could ‘Cripple’ Harvard
The Massachusetts state legislature is set to move ahead later this month with a university endowment tax bill that some experts described as potentially catastrophic for academic institutions like Harvard and MIT.
Harvard Climate Advocates Cautiously Optimistic After Release of Climate Report
Harvard affiliates gave mixed reactions to Harvard Management Company’s publication of its annual climate report. The report, released last week, details a drop in the Harvard fossil fuel investments, which are now less than 2 percent of the endowment.
Ivy League Federal Lobbying Expenditure Rose 12% in 2023, Harvard Spent $530,000
Harvard spent $530,000 on lobbying the federal government in 2023, the lowest amount spent by the University in the past nine years.
Harvard Endowment’s Fossil Fuel Investments Drop Below 2%
The Harvard Management Company — which stewards the University’s $50.7 billion endowment — reported the endowment’s investments in fossil fuels have fallen below 2 percent, as the University remains on pace to fully divest from the industry by 2050.
Harvard Attracts Investors, Selling $750 Million in Taxable Bonds
After two credit rating agencies affirmed the University’s AAA rating, Harvard sold $750 million in taxable bonds at an advantageous rate, demonstrating strong investor faith in the school despite weathering a series of scandals last fall.
Harvard Slashes Healthcare Investments, Tech Rises to 98% of Portfolio
The Harvard Management Company increased its direct holdings of Alphabet and Meta and continued its major sell off of biopharma holdings — which now make up less than 1 percent of the portfolio — during the last three months of 2023.
Proposed Mass. Bill Would Impose 2.5% Tax on Harvard Endowment
The Massachusetts Joint Committee on Revenue held a hearing Wednesday on a bill which would introduce a tax on Harvard’s endowment.
Harvard Endowment Executives Meet with Silicon Valley Investors Amid University Turmoil
Harvard Management Company executives met with leading venture capital and private equity investors in Silicon Valley last week amid investor concerns over the University’s response to the Israel-Hamas war and allegations of antisemitism on campus.
House Committee Suggests Harvard Could Lose Tax-Exempt Status in Letter to Garber
The House Ways and Means Committee suggested Harvard’s tax-exempt status could be at risk over its response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack against Israel and concerns of antisemitism on campus in a letter to interim President Alan M. Garber ’76 on Wednesday.
