Performance of College Endowments

Changes in endowment values and the effect on spending
Endowment size	Change in value, 2008 fiscal year	Change in value, July to November 2008	No changes planned in spending from endowment	Plan to decrease spending from endowment	Plan to increase spending from endowment	Unknown/no response
Over $1-billion	1.5%	-20.0%	71.8%	15.4%	2.6%	10.2%
$501-million to $1-billion	-1.1%	-25.5%	67.5%	25.0%	2.5%	5.0%
$101-million to $500-million	-2.6%	-23.8%	59.8%	30.3%	N/A	9.9%
$51-million to $100-million	-0.4%	-23.9%	65.4%	25.9%	N/A	8.7%
$26-million to $50-million	-2.7%	-23.7%	60.3%	28.2%	1.3%	10.2%
$25-million or less	-1.9%	-21.3%	44.6%	26.2%	3.1%	26.1%
Public colleges	0.8%	-24.4%	49.2%	32.6%	N/A	18.2%
Private colleges	0.4%	-22.0%	65.3%	24.1%	1.7%	8.9%
All colleges	0.5%	-22.9%	60.5%	26.7%	1.1%	11.7%
NOTE: N/A means less than 1 percent. Percentages are rounded. The 2008 fiscal year ended on June 30, 2008.
SOURCES: Commonfund Institute and the National Association of College and University Business Officers

2008 average returns
Endowments by size
Over $1-billion	0.6%
$501-million to $1-billion	-1.9%
$101-million to $500-million	-2.9%
$51-million to $100-million	-3.2%
$26-million to $50-million	-4.3%
$25-million or less	-4.1%
All	-3.0%
Comparative measurements
Russell 3000	-12.7%
Standard & Poor's 500 Index	-13.1%
Morgan Stanley Capital International World Ex-US Index	-6.6%
Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index	7.1%
Consumer Price Index	5.0%
Higher Education Price Index	3.6%
NOTE: The figures represent total-return rates — including changes in market value plus dividend and interest — for the year ending June 30, 2008, based on data from 796 college investment pools.

How the assets were invested in 2008
Stocks	51.9%
Domestic	34.9%
International	17%
Alternative assets	19.4%
Hedge funds	12.9%
Private equity	3.3%
Natural resources	2.2%
Venture capital	1.0%
Bonds	19.2%
Real estate	4.1%
Cash	3.9%
Other	1.5%
SOURCES: National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA-CREF Asset Management