Yale Endowment Returns 26.3%, Grows to $54.5B
Yale University’s endowment returned 26.3%, net of fees, in fiscal 2026, generating $11.3 billion in investment gains and lifting its value to $54.5 billion after distributing $2.2 billion to support university operations.
The results for the year ended June 30 underscore the scale of Yale’s investment program, which maintains substantial exposure to venture capital, buyouts, real assets and marketable alternative strategies.
According to the university’s annual financial report, approximately $32 billion was invested in private markets valued using net asset value. That included $15.3 billion in venture capital, $11.5 billion in leveraged buyouts and $5.2 billion in real assets.
Another $8.3 billion was allocated to marketable alternatives, up from $6.3 billion in 2025. Combined, those holdings totaled approximately $40.3 billion, equivalent to about 74% of the reported endowment value.
Chief Investment Officer Matt Mendelsohn credited Yale’s investment team and external partners while emphasizing that annual results should be evaluated against the university’s long-term objectives.
Over the decade ended June 30, the endowment returned an annualized 11.7%, exceeding the estimated median college and university endowment return by 1.6 percentage points annually. It outperformed a typical portfolio comprising 70% stocks and 30% bonds by 2.7 percentage points annually.
Yale spent $16.3 billion from the endowment during that decade, equivalent to 64% of its value at the period’s beginning.
The latest gains will enter the operating budget gradually under Yale’s spending policy, beginning with fiscal 2028 on July 1, 2027. The university spreads the impact over five years to limit budget volatility.
Taxes will reduce the benefit. Yale said the tax liability associated with this year’s gains is roughly $900 million, citing its new 8% federal endowment tax rate.
Approximately three-quarters of endowment funds are restricted to donor-designated purposes, limiting how freely the university can deploy resources despite the strong headline investment performance this year.