Boston College returned 13.4 percent on its endowment in fiscal year 2017, the University announced Friday, putting the endowment at $2.4 billion with investment gains of $281 million for the year.
The returns are a major rebound from fiscal 2016, when BC reported a -4.3 percent return and investment losses of $97 million on the year.
“The endowment return is a reflection of the strong leadership of BC’s Chief Investment Officer John Zona and the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees,” University Spokesman Jack Dunn said in an email. “Boston College is the beneficiary of their dedication and stewardship of our endowment resources.”
Dunn declined to specify which investment areas performed particularly well, saying that as a matter of policy, BC does not comment on its investment strategy. According to the 2016 BC Annual Report, published last October, the endowment was 49 percent domestic and international equities, 10 percent fixed income securities, and 41 percent alternative strategies, including return funds, private equity funds, and real asset funds.
Educational endowments nationwide returned -1.9 percent in fiscal 2016, according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers. Harvard University, for example, lost 2 percent last year.
BC joins a number of other universities that also have reported high returns for fiscal 2017 and appear to have recovered from a down year. Harvard posted 8.1 percent returns, which its new investment chief called “disappointing.” Cornell University, which returned -3.3 percent last year, reported 12.5 percent gains. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology gained 14.3 percent.
Featured Image by Zoe Fanning / Heights Editor
