The principal reason for the jump was a 155 percent return in private equity investments, which includes venture capital. Harvard is one of the few colleges that has enough money to invest in such accounts, which are considered speculative. Still, those investments represent only 15 percent of Harvard's portfolio. We're happy about where it is, and we'll be happy if venture capital does well again. But we're not planning any changes.
Most schools have yet to report their endowment returns.
The highest return was about 29 percent, according to an annual study by the National Association of College and University Business Officers. That's probably an indication of how the rest of the institutions are doing. The real question now for Harvard deans is what percentage of the endowment they will devote to the university's operating budget. Traditionally, the average spending rate for colleges is about 5.5 percent. If they use it to significantly increase access to a superb education like Harvard, that's not faulting them.