Top 20 Richest Colleges for 2013: The Biggest Endowments

It’s been a year since we looked at the colleges with the largest amount of money in their endowment funds, and we thought it was time to check in again.

ThinkAdvisor decided to double the list to the Top 20 Richest Colleges for 2013 over the slideshows of 2012 and 2011 so we could include more than the usual suspects on our list.

The data comes from the NACUBO Commonfund Study of Endowments, which examined 835 U.S. colleges and universities. Overall, the study found that the endowments returned an average of 11.7% for the fiscal year that ended in June.

The funds continued their rebound from the Great Recession. And that’s a good thing because endowments pay a key part of the schools’ operating budgets, making up an average of 8.8%.

(Check out last year’s Top 10 Richest Colleges for 2012 on ThinkAdvisor.)

NACUBO notes that the percentage gains for the endowment funds do not equate to investment returns. Instead, the percentage change reflects the net impact of:

• Withdrawals to fund institutional operations and capital expenses;
• The payment of endowment management and investment fees;
• Additions from donor gifts and other contributions;
• Investment gains or losses.

In addition the market value of real estate and other illiquid assets is estimated and can change quickly.

Check out the Top 20 Richest Colleges for 2013: The Biggest Endowments:

20. Rice

$4.8 billion, up 9.5%

2012 Ranking: No. 20—$4.4 billion

The Rice Management Co. is headed by CIO Allison Thacker and COO Ron Long.

19. University of Virginia

$5.1 billion, up 7.9%

2012 Ranking: No. 19—$4.7 billion

Lawrence Kochard, CEO and CIO, leads the University of Virginia’s Investment Management Co. Previously he had been CIO of Georgetown University’s investment fund.

18. Cornell University

$5.2 billion, up 6.6%

2012 Ranking: No. 18—$4.9 billion

The school’s Office of University Investments is guided by CIO A.J. Edwards, who was appointed to the position in May 2012 after serving a year as interim CIO.

17. Washington University in St. Louis

$5.6 billion, up 8.1%

2012 Ranking: No. 17—$5.2 billion

Kimberly Walker heads the Investment Co. as CIO, a position she has held for nearly eight years. She had been president of Qwest Asset Management Co., part of Qwest Communications International, which had $4 billion in assets under management.

16. Emory University

$5.8 billion, up 6.5%

2012 Ranking: No. 16—$5.4 billion

Mary Cahill, who honed her prowess at Merck and Xerox, is vice president of investments and CIO for Emory’s funds.

15. Duke

$6 billion, up 8.7%

2012 Ranking: No. 15—$5.5 billion

Neil Triplett, who has been president of the Duke asset management team since 2007, leads the endowment. He has been part of the team since 1999.

14. University of California

$6.3 billion, up 7%

2012 Ranking: No. 14—$5.9 billion

Jagdeep Singh Bachher is the CIO and vice president of investments; he joined the fund in April. Before taking the helm of the Cal pension and endowment funds, he had been an executive vice president at Alberta Investment Management Co., one of Canada’s largest investment fund managers.

13. University of Chicago

$6.6 billion, up 1.5%

2012 Ranking: No. 12—$6.5 billion

Mark Schmid, vice president and CIO, leads an investment team of 29 people, from the school that was founded by John D. Rockefeller.

12. University of Notre Dame

$6.8 billion, up 8.3%

2012 Ranking: No. 13—$6.3 billion

The Investment Office is led by Scott Malpass, a graduate of the school who adheres to Catholic principles when making investment choices.

11. University of Pennsylvania

$7.7 billion, up 14.6%