University endowments are at a crossroads

A year ago, university endowments were basking in bumper returns, which for some schools exceeded 50% for fiscal year 2021.

Now, they’re facing their worst performance since the financial crisis: Endowments and foundations reported median losses of 7.8% for the fiscal year ended June 30, according to an estimate by Cambridge Associates. That’s actually good news, since those results handily beat traditional stock-and-bond portfolios.