A few weeks ago, Trusted Insight published the 20 university endowments that have achieved the highest return in the past five years. The majority of these were private institutions, and only four were public universities. This week, we are narrowing the angle and focusing on public schools only.

While public universities receive state and federal subsidies, endowments have played an increasingly important role in recent years, particularly for institutions that have experienced cuts in government support. Therefore, investment returns on endowments have become a critical source of revenue to support these universities’ programs.

University of Virginia’s $7.53 billion endowment tops the list with a five-year average return of 13.7 percent under the leadership of CEO/CIO Lawrence Kochard, followed second by the University of Minnesota endowment, whose $1.29 billion endowment gained 11.7 percent over the same period.

Here is the full list of 20 public universities with the best five-year returns: (five-year return data are for the period between June 2010 and June 2015.)






20. University of Oklahoma Foundation
AUM: $1.49 billion
5-year return: 7.1%
2015 return: 5%
CIO: Bradley J. Johnson

19. Georgia Institute of Technology - Georgia Tech Foundation     
AUM: $1.86 billion
5-year return: 8.3%
2015 return: 1.9%
CIO: Jim Taylor

18. University of Florida Foundation     
AUM: $1.56 billion
5-year return: 8.8%
2015 return: 4.5%
CIO: William S. Reeser

17. Ohio State University     
AUM: $3.63 billion
5-year return: 9.1%
2015 return: 3.8%
CIO: John C. Lane

16. University of Kansas - KU Endowment Association     
AUM: $1.50 billion
5-year return: 9.2%
2015 return: 0.1%
CIO: James Clark

15. Texas A&M University - Texas A&M Foundation
AUM: $1.40 billion
5-year return: 9.26%
2015 return: -0.35%
CIO: Janet Handley

14. University of Texas System - Permanent University Fund    
AUM: $17.84 billion
5-year return: 9.4%
2015 return: 0.43%
CIO: Bruce Zimmerman

13. Michigan State University     
AUM: $2.67 billion
5-year return: 9.7%
2015 return: 3.5%
CIO: Philip Zecher

12. University of Missouri
AUM: $1.40 billion
5-year return: 10%
2015 return: 1.9%
CIO: Thomas Richards

11. University of Washington     
AUM: $3.08 billion
5-year return: 10%
2015 return: 6.8%
CIO: Keith Ferguson

10. University of Illinois Foundation    
AUM: $2.39 billion
5-year return: 10.4%
2015 return: 2.8%
CIO: Ellen Ellison
Read an interview with Ellen Ellison here.

09. University of Iowa Foundation     
AUM: $1.27 billion
5-year return: 10.7%
2015 return: 2.1%
CIO: Jim Bethea

08. University of Pittsburgh    
AUM: $3.61 billion
5-year return: 10.7%
2015 return: 2.5%
CIO: Amy Marsh

07. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - UNC Management Company   
AUM: $4.64 billion
5-year return: 10.8%
2015 return: 9.3%
CIO: Jonathon King

06. University of Michigan     
AUM: $9.95 billion
5-year return: 11%
2015 return: 3.5 %
CIO: Erik Lundberg
Read an interview with Erik Lundberg here.

05. Indiana University    
AUM: $1.97 billion
5-year return: 11.1%
2015 return: 3.5 %
CIO: Gary Stratten

04. University of California
AUM: $14.27 billion
5-year return: 11.3 %
2015 return: 4.4%
CIO: Jagdeep Baccher

03. Pennsylvania State University     
AUM: $3.74 billion
5-year return: 11.5 %
2015 return: 3.1%
CIO: John Pomeroy

02. University of Minnesota Endowment  
AUM: $1.29 billion
5-year return: 11.7 %
2015 return: 5.7%
CIO: Stuart Mason
Read an interview with Stuart Mason here.

01. University of Virginia - University of Virginia Investment Management Company (UVIMCO)    
AUM: $7.53 billion
5-year return: 13.7%
2015 return: 7.7%
CIO: Lawrence Kochard
Read an interview with Lawrence Kochard here.


For questions, comments or story ideas, please contact us at editorial@thetrustedinsight.com