Endowment portfolio posts 7.7% return
The market value of the Long-Term Investment Pool grew $958 million in fiscal 2018 while distributing $201.5 million to support student scholarships, faculty positions and other academic priorities.
Ohio State’s portfolio was worth $4.25 billion at the beginning of the fiscal year, ranking it as the 23rd largest college endowment in the country, according to the 2017 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. Peer comparisons for fiscal 2018 are not yet available.
The +7.7 percent return for fiscal 2018, net of investment management fees, outperformed the university’s market-based benchmark of +7.4 percent. Since the Office of Investments was established in fiscal 2010, the university’s investment pool has generated an annual average return of +8.8 percent, compared with a benchmark return of +7.7 percent.
The growth of the LTIP during fiscal 2018 includes about $800 million in new endowments created from proceeds of the comprehensive energy management partnership, $98 million in investment returns and $65 million in gifts.