The Yale

Endowment
2020
Endowment Highlights
Fiscal Year

2020 2019 2018 2017 2016

Market Value (in millions) $31,201.7 $30,314.8 $29,351.1 $27,176.1 $25,408.6

Return 6.8% 5.7% 12.3% 11.3% 3.4%

Spending (in millions) $ 1,437.3 $ 1,354.7 $ 1,281.0 $ 1,225.8 $ 1,152.8

Operating Budget Revenues $ 4,273.2 $ 4,181.4 $ 3,874.9 $ 3,692.2 $ 3,472.4
(in millions)
Endowment Percentage 33.6% 32.4% 33.1% 33.2% 33.2%

Asset Allocation (as of June 30)

Absolute Return 21.6% 23.2% 26.1% 25.1% 22.1%

Domestic Equity 2.3 2.7 3.5 3.9 4.0
Foreign Equity 11.4 13.7 15.3 15.2 14.9
Leveraged Buyouts 15.8 15.9 14.1 14.2 14.7
Natural Resources 3.9 4.9 7.0 7.8 7.9
Real Estate 8.6 10.1 10.3 10.9 13.0
Venture Capital 22.6 21.1 19.0 17.1 16.2
Cash & Fixed Income 13.7 8.4 4.7 5.8 7.2

Endowment Market Value 1950–2020

$35

$30

$25

$20
Billions

$15

$10

$5

$0
1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020

Fiscal Year
 Contents

1. Introduction 2
2. The Yale Endowment 3
3. Investment Policy 5
4. Spending Policy 18
5. Investment Performance 20
6. Management and Oversight 22
The Humanities
Quadrangle
The Humanities Quadrangle at 320 York
Street (shown on the front cover) opened
recently after extensive rehabilitation, which
will make the former Hall of Graduate
Studies a focal point for study in the
humanities. Faculty, staff and students con-
nected to eighteen different humanities
units, once located at diverse campus loca-
tions, have occupied new, improved quar-
ters designed to enhance formal and infor-
mal interaction. Resident departments below the con-
include Comparative Literature, Film and course includes the
Media Studies, French, History, Judaic state-of-the-art
Studies, Spanish and Portuguese, in addi- Alice Cinema and a
tion to such units as the Whitney Lecture Hall
Humanities Center. for guest speaker
“The renovation of this building and programs.
inclusive work of its planning represents a The tower, a
significant institutional and human invest- distinctive feature
ment in the humanities at Yale,” said of the Humanities
Quadrangle since
its original opening
in 1932, is illustrat-
ed in the logo at
top left, designed
Kathryn Lofton, Faculty of Arts and by Kaleigh Kurpiewski. The tower has been
Sciences dean of humanities. Professor reconditioned, thanks to a gift from Lisbet
Christophe Schuwey of the French Rausing and Peter M. Baldwin ’78, and
Department called the new facility a “major renamed Swensen Tower in honor of David
commitment toward the humanities,” which Swensen ’80 PhD, ’14 LHD, Yale’s Chief
“will definitely foster conversation and col- Investment Officer since 1985 (in photo, far
laboration” among departments and indi- left). The commemorative plaque located
viduals. Doctoral candidates spoke enthusi- near the base of the tower on the ground
astically of the “thoughtful” and “function- floor was designed and created by 2010
al” nature of the design and layout as well as MacArthur Fellow Nick Benson, a stone
the equipping of spaces. carver from The John Stevens Shop whose
The Humanities Quadrangle offers work appears in other Yale locations. Shown
expanded office facilities, social areas and at center is the interior ground-floor gate-
classrooms, while the newly excavated level way, which dates to the original structure.
 Introduction Yale’s Endowment generated a 6.8% return, net of fees, in fiscal 2020.

1
Over the past ten years, the Endowment grew from $16.7 billion to
$31.2 billion. With annual returns of 10.9% during the ten-year period,
the Endowment’s performance exceeded its benchmark and outpaced
institutional fund indices. For three of the past ten years, Yale’s ten-year
record ranked first in the Cambridge Associates universe.
Spending from the Endowment grew during the last decade from
$1.1 billion to $1.4 billion, an annual growth rate of 2.6%. Next year,
spending will amount to $1.5 billion, or 36% of projected revenues. Yale’s
spending and investment policies provide substantial levels of cash flow
to the operating budget for current scholars, while preserving Endow-
ment purchasing power for future generations.

David F. Swensen ’80 PhD, ’14 LHD

Chief Investment Officer

Carrie A. Abildgaard
Director Endowment Growth Outpaces Inflation 1950–2020
$35

$30

$25

$20
Billions

$15

$10

$5

$0
1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020

Fiscal Year

1950 Endowment Inflated Post-1950 Endowment Gifts Inflated Endowment Market Value
2
The Yale Endowment Totaling $31.2 billion on June 30, 2020, the Yale Endowment contains
thousands of funds with various purposes and restrictions. Approxi-

2
mately 82% of funds constitute true endowment, gifts restricted by
donors to provide long-term funding for designated purposes. The
remaining funds represent quasi-endowment, monies that the Yale
Corporation chooses to invest and treat as Endowment.
Donors frequently specify a particular purpose for gifts, creating
endowments to fund professorships, teaching and lectureships (24%),
scholarships, fellowships and prizes (18%), maintenance (4%), books
(3%) and miscellaneous specific purposes (27%). Twenty-four percent
of funds are unrestricted. Eighteen percent of the Endowment benefits
the overall university, with remaining funds focused on specific units,
including the Faculty of Arts & Sciences (34%), the professional and arts
schools (25%), the library (7%) and other entities (16%).
Although distinct in purpose or restriction, Endowment funds are
commingled in an investment pool and tracked with unit accounting
much like a large mutual fund. Endowment gifts of cash, securities or
property are valued and exchanged for units that represent a claim on a
portion of the total investment portfolio.
In fiscal 2020 the Endowment provided $1.4 billion, or 34%,
of the university’s $4.3 billion operating income. Other major sources of
revenues were medical services of $1.1 billion (27%), grants and contracts
of $837 million (20%), net tuition, room and board of $388 million
Alexander C. Banker (9%), gifts of $160 million (4%) and other income and transfers of $318
Director million (7%).*

Endowment Fund Allocation Operating Budget Revenue

Fiscal Year 2020 Fiscal Year 2020

Other Incomes
and Transfers
Books
Maintenance Gifts
Unrestricted Tuition,
Scholarships Room & Board Endowment

Miscellaneous Medical Services

Professorships
Specific Purposes Grants and Contracts

* Numbers do not sum to 100% due to rounding.

3
 Diversity and Inclusion
Even as the Yale Investments Office you recruit and train your junior analysts. sionals in the Yale Investments Office,
works to improve the diversity of its staff, Why not hire directly from college cam- your firm and beyond.
the Office is asking its fund managers to puses? Colleges and universities are richly I hope you will join me in making a
address the lack of diversity in the asset diverse. Many students have little knowl- serious effort to improve the diversity of
management industry. As part of this edge of career options outside of invest- the asset management industry.
effort, in October 2020 Chief Investment ment banking and consulting. You would Sincerely,
Officer David Swensen sent a letter to all be doing a great service by introducing David Swensen
of Yale’s active U.S.-based investment them to the fascinating profession of Chief Investment Officer
managers, enlisting their help in improv- investment management.
ing diversity and asking managers to pro- At first glance, it might appear diffi- Fund manager response to Yale’s letter
vide the Investments Office with data on cult to train recent college graduates, was overwhelmingly positive, with many
diversity in their teams. In addition, instead of outsourcing the training to managers agreeing about the importance
Investments Office staff are engaged in investment banks or consulting firms. of diversity and applauding Yale’s
ongoing discussions with fund managers Yet, since much of your work is specific to approach. Several partners shared specific
to learn about the managers’ approach to your firm’s approach to managing assets, initiatives that they pursue to improve
diversity, discuss best practices, share you are already doing much of the train- diversity within their organizations. Some
learnings and gather feedback. ing for the individuals you hire. of Yale’s private equity partners have dedi-
One of the most effective ways to cated senior resources to help accelerate
David Swensen’s Letter learn about investing is through an old-
fashioned apprenticeship. Shadowing
diversity and inclusion initiatives within
their firms and across their portfolio com-
Over the years, my colleagues and I have experienced colleagues and absorbing panies. Several managers, particularly
had opportunities to discuss diversity and their approach to analyzing opportunities smaller firms that lack the resources to
inclusion with you. From those conversa- provide a solid foundation for a career in hire stand-alone diversity-focused staff,
tions, I know you care about this topic. I asset management. Close mentorship and highlighted the importance of strategic
write now to enlist your cooperation in training introduce junior analysts to the partnerships for recruiting purposes. A
taking a more systematic approach to the firm’s ethos, a critical element in creating number of managers highlighted success-
problem of the lack of women and a cohesive firm. The hard skills and soft es in attracting diverse candidates to their
minorities in the asset management skills necessary to succeed are best trans- internship programs, with the expectation
industry. mitted by senior members of the firm to that those interns will return in analyst or
Our goal is a level of diversity in the new hires. associate roles in the future. One manager
investment management firms that Hiring and training a more diverse launched an internship program as a
reflects the diversity in the world in which group of analysts is only a starting point. result of Yale’s letter. Several firms have
we live. Genuine diversity remains elu- Providing a clear career path with conducted workshops and programs
sive, giving investors like Yale and your advancement opportunities increases around inclusion, anti-racism, implicit
firm an opportunity to drive change. retention rates and facilitates entry into bias and ethics to promote ongoing edu-
Success will be measured by hiring, train- the leadership ranks of the firm. cation on these topics.
ing, mentoring and retaining women and To monitor progress, I am asking all
minorities for positions on the investment of our managers to complete the attached
teams at Yale and in your firm. survey regarding diversity by October 31.
As a starting point, I would like to We are interested in the numbers of
emphasize the importance of entry-level diverse professionals on the investment
positions. By and large, the number of team and in your support functions, at
experienced investment professionals is various levels of seniority. We will not
fixed. We do not solve the larger problem share firm-specific data outside of Yale. I
of underrepresentation by recruiting plan on asking you for annual updates.
diverse candidates from other investment My colleague Lisa Howie will coordinate
organizations. Such position shuffling is a the survey. Please contact me or Lisa with
zero-sum game, doing nothing to any questions.
improve diversity of the overall industry. You will note that we are not asking
Yet, if we hire and train diverse individu- about firm ownership as a factor in meas-
als early in their careers, we can expand uring diversity. Ownership per se does
the numbers of talented, diverse invest- not necessarily relate to having a diverse
ment management professionals. investment team and does not directly
Many of you report that the pools measure progress toward the goal we
from which you recruit are not diverse. In hope to achieve, namely much larger
response, I suggest a rethinking of how numbers of diverse investment profes-

4
Investment Policy Yale’s portfolio is structured using a combination of academic theory and
informed market judgment. The theoretical framework relies on mean-

3
variance analysis, an approach developed by Nobel laureates James Tobin
and Harry Markowitz, both of whom conducted work on this important
portfolio management tool at Yale’s Cowles Foundation. Using statistical
techniques to combine expected returns, variances and covariances of
investment assets, Yale employs mean-variance analysis to estimate
expected risk and return profiles of various asset allocation alternatives
and to test sensitivity of results to changes in input assumptions.
Because investment management involves as much art as science,
qualitative considerations play an extremely important role in portfolio
decisions. The definition of an asset class is subjective, requiring precise
distinctions where none exist. Returns, risks and correlations are difficult
to forecast. Historical data provide a guide, but must be modified to
recognize structural changes and compensate for anomalous periods.
Quantitative measures have difficulty incorporating factors such as
market liquidity or the influence of significant, low-probability events.
In spite of the operational challenges, the rigor required in conducting
mean-variance analysis brings an important perspective to the asset
Amy M. Chivetta allocation process.
Director
The combination of quantitative analysis and market judgment
employed by Yale produces the following portfolio:

June 2020 June 2020

Asset Class Actual Target

Absolute Return 21.6 % 23.5 %

Domestic Equity 2.3 2.25
Foreign Equity 11.4 11.75
Leveraged Buyouts 15.8 17.5
Natural Resources 3.9 4.5
Real Estate 8.6 9.5
Venture Capital 22.6 23.5
Cash & Fixed Income 13.7 7.5
Alan S. Forman
Director At its June 2020 meeting, Yale’s Investment Committee adopted changes
to the university’s policy portfolio allocations. The Committee approved
increases in the venture capital target from 21.5% to 23.5%, in the lever-
aged buyout target from 16.5% to 17.5%, in the absolute return target
from 23% to 23.5% and in the cash and fixed income target from 7% to
7.5%. The Committee approved decreases in the foreign equity target
from 13.75% to 11.75%, in the natural resources target from 5.5% to 4.5%,
in the real estate target from 10% to 9.5% and in the domestic equity tar-
get from 2.75% to 2.25%. Over the longer term, Yale seeks to allocate
approximately one-half of the portfolio to the illiquid asset classes of
leveraged buyouts, venture capital, real estate and natural resources.
Providing resources for current operations and preserving
purchasing power of assets dictate investing for high returns, causing
the Endowment to be biased toward equity. The university’s vulnerability
to inflation further directs the Endowment away from fixed income and
R. Alexander Hetherington ’06 toward equity instruments. Hence, more than 90% of the Endowment
Director is targeted for investment in assets expected to produce equity-like
5
 returns, through holdings of domestic and international equities, absolute
return strategies, real estate, natural resources, leveraged buyouts and
venture capital.
Over the past three decades, Yale dramatically reduced the
Endowment’s dependence on domestic marketable securities by reallocat-
ing assets to nontraditional asset classes. In 1990, 65% of the Endowment
was targeted to U.S. stocks and bonds. Today, target allocations call for
9.75% in domestic marketable securities and cash, while the diversifying
assets of foreign equity, absolute return, real estate, natural resources,
Lisa M. Howie ’00, ’08 MBA leveraged buyouts and venture capital dominate the Endowment, repre-
Director
senting 90.25% of the target portfolio.
The heavy allocation to nontraditional asset classes stems from
their return potential and diversifying power. Today’s actual and target
portfolios have significantly higher expected returns than the 1990 port-
folio with modestly higher volatility. Alternative assets, by their very
nature, tend to be less efficiently priced than traditional marketable secu-
rities, providing an opportunity to exploit market inefficiencies through
active management. The Endowment’s long time horizon is well suited to
exploit illiquid, less efficient markets.

An entrance to the Presidents’ Room in the completely renovated Schwarzman Center.

6
Yale Investments Office Staff
The Endowment is managed by a team er science. The common thread among investment strategies, and building
of investment professionals at the Yale all analysts is a devotion to higher edu- financial models. They assist in the
Investments Office. To keep pace with cation and to Yale, a curiosity about screening, selection and monitoring of
the increasing Endowment value, the investing and the desire to explore fund managers through background
investment team has grown over the those interests in an entrepreneurial, research, manager meetings and portfo-
past thirty years and today consists of hands-on organization. lio analysis. In line with Yale’s belief in
thirty-two professionals, including a The Investments Office’s analysts the centrality of external managers to the
team of analysts and an experienced sen- generally begin working for the investment management process, ana-
ior staff. Each year, the Office hires stu- Endowment with little or no portfolio lysts travel the world to meet managers
dent interns, who rank among the most management experience. Focused men- in person to build and strengthen long-
impressive Yale College students. torship and extensive on-the-job training standing investment relationships.
develop the analysts’ investment abilities.
Senior Staff The senior staff at the Yale The collaborative, flat structure of the Interns The Yale Investments Office
Investments Office drive the decisions Investments Office exposes analysts to hires student interns during the academic
and overall direction of the university’s the philosophy and thought process of term and summer. Interns add horse-
Endowment. Led by David Swensen, Chief Investment Officer David Swensen power to the Office’s capacity and
senior staff members focus their atten- and the rest of the team starting from strengthen the connection between the
tion on key endowment management day one. In their early years, analysts Office staff and the university. At the
issues, including setting asset allocation, develop quantitative skills, qualitative Investments Office, interns rotate
conducting deep portfolio reviews and skills and investment instincts. In addi- through all of the asset class teams, gain-
investigating topics like liquidity analysis tion, all analysts at the Investments ing exposure to a wide range of invest-
or technology exposure. In addition to Office prepare and sit for the Chartered ment strategies and assisting in the
leading broad portfolio projects, senior Financial Analyst (CFA) examination. screening and monitoring of funds
staff members serve as the crucial link As investment analysts develop through research, performance evalua-
between Yale and its external managers: financial literacy and analytical tools, tion and participation in manager meet-
they work on sourcing, evaluating, they receive broad exposure to the ings. They work on a wide variety of
selecting and monitoring funds; they investment process and various facets of strategic projects, such as analyzing man-
negotiate with managers on issues such Yale’s portfolio. Analyst functions ager performance, industry benchmarks
as fund raising and fee structures; and include assessing investment perform- and new investment opportunities.
they collaborate on discussions regard- ance, examining the allocation of funds
ing organizational development. across different asset classes and
Consistent with the Office’s empha-
sis on teamwork and mentorship, senior
staff members involve their junior col-
leagues in research, analysis and portfo-
lio management. Such sharing breeds a
culture of spirited, intellectual discussion
and encourages analysts to engage in the
decision-making process early in their
careers. Early responsibility prepares
junior staff to take on larger roles,
enabling the Investments Office to pro-
mote from within. Six current directors
joined the office directly from college,
including one who has remained with
the Office for nearly thirty-five years.
(Two directors joined directly from busi-
ness school.)

Investment Analysts Investment ana-

lysts perform much of the Endow-
ment’s essential analysis. Yale’s analysts
come from a variety of academic back- Yale Health is housed in this building on Lock Street, which opened in 2010. The seven-
grounds, ranging from students who foot-tall bronze statue near the building honors William “King” Lanson, a New Havener
majored in history and biology to those who helped build the modern city. Born into slavery in the 1770s, he was a local leader and
with degrees in economics and comput- businessman until his death in 1851.

7
 Asset Class Yale’s eight asset classes are defined by differences in their expected
response to economic conditions, such as economic growth, price
Characteristics inflation or changes in interest rates, with weights in the Endowment
portfolio determined by risk-adjusted returns and correlations. The uni-
versity combines the asset classes in such a way as to provide the highest
expected return for a given level of risk, subject to fundamental diversifi-
cation and liquidity constraints.
The capital markets assumptions detailed for each asset class
below incorporate assumptions about the university’s ability to add value
through active management.

Absolute Return In July 1990, Yale became the first institutional investor to define absolute
return strategies as a distinct asset class, beginning with a target alloca-
tion of 15.0%. Designed to provide significant diversification to the
Endowment, absolute return investments are expected to generate high
long-term real returns by exploiting market inefficiencies. The portfolio is
invested in two broad categories: event-driven strategies and value-driven
strategies. Event-driven strategies rely on a specific corporate event, such
as a merger, spin-off or bankruptcy restructuring, to achieve a target
price. Value-driven strategies involve hedged positions in assets or securi-
ties with prices that diverge from their underlying economic value. Today,
the absolute return portfolio is targeted to be 23.5% of the Endowment,
above the average educational institution’s allocation of 20.0% to such
strategies. Absolute return strategies are expected to generate a real return
of 3.5% with risk of 7.0%. The Barclays 9 to 12 Month Treasury Index
Matthew S.T. Mendelsohn ’07 serves as the portfolio benchmark.
Director Absolute return investments have historically provided returns
largely independent of overall market moves. Over the past twenty years,
the portfolio exceeded expectations, returning 8.1% per year with low cor-
relation to domestic stock and bond markets.

Domestic Equity Equity owners reasonably expect to receive returns superior to those pro-
duced by less risky assets such as bonds and cash. The predominant asset
class in most U.S. institutional portfolios, domestic equity represents a
large, liquid and heavily researched market. While the average education-
al institution invests 21.7% of assets in domestic equities, Yale’s target
allocation to this asset class is only 2.25%. The domestic equity portfolio
has an expected real return of 6.0% with a standard deviation of 17.0%.
The Wilshire 5000 Index serves as the portfolio benchmark.
Despite recognizing that the U.S. equity market is highly efficient,
Yale elects to pursue active management strategies, aspiring to outper-
form the market index by a few percentage points, net of fees, annually.
Because superior stock selection provides the most consistent and reliable
opportunity for generating attractive returns, the university favors man-
agers with exceptional bottom-up, fundamental research capabilities.
Yale’s domestic equity portfolio has posted returns of 9.7% per year over
the past twenty years.

John V. Ricotta ’08

Director
8
Foreign Equity Foreign equity investments give the Endowment exposure to the global
economy, providing diversification and the opportunity to earn outsized
returns through active management. Yale allocates 5.25% of its portfolio
to foreign developed markets and 6.5% to emerging markets. Yale’s for-
eign equity target allocation of 11.75% stands below the average endow-
ment’s allocation of 19.8%. Expected real returns for emerging equities
are 11.0% with a risk level of 23.0%, while developed equities are expected
to return 8.0% with risk of 20.0%. The portfolio is benchmarked against
a composite of developed markets, measured by the msci Europe,
Australasia and Far East (eafe) Investable Market Index, and emerging
markets, measured by a blend of the msci Emerging Markets Investable
Market Index and the msci China A Share Investable Market Index.
Yale’s investment approach to foreign equities emphasizes active
management designed to uncover attractive opportunities and exploit
market inefficiencies. As in the domestic equity portfolio, Yale favors
managers with strong fundamental research capabilities. Capital alloca-
Timothy R. Sullivan ’86 tion to individual managers takes into consideration the country alloca-
Director tion of the foreign equity portfolio, the degree of confidence that Yale
possesses in a manager and the appropriate size for a particular strategy.
In addition, Yale attempts to exploit mispricings in countries, sectors and
styles by allocating capital to the most compelling opportunities. Twenty-
year returns for Yale’s foreign equity portfolio stand at 14.8% per year.

Leveraged Buyouts Leveraged buyouts offer extremely attractive long-term risk-adjusted

returns, stemming from the university’s strong stable of managers that
exploit market inefficiencies. The university’s target allocation to lever-
aged buyouts of 17.5% far exceeds the 8.4% actual allocation of the aver-
age educational institution. The leveraged buyout portfolio is expected
to generate real returns of 8.6% with risk of 21.1%.
Yale’s leveraged buyout strategy emphasizes partnerships with
firms that pursue a value-added approach to investing. Such firms work
closely with portfolio companies to create fundamentally more valuable
entities, relying only secondarily on financial engineering to generate
returns. Investments are made with an eye toward long-term relation-

Xinchen Wang ’09

Director

In the nave of Sterling Memorial Library,

temporary shelving holds the books requested
for pick-up by students and faculty members
during the partial closing of campus buildings
in 2020.
9
 ships—generally, a commitment is expected to be the first of several—
and toward the close alignment of the interests of general and limited
partners. Over the past twenty years, the leveraged buyout program has
earned 11.2% per annum.

Natural Resources Equity investments in natural resources—oil and gas, timberland and agri-
culture—share common risk and return characteristics: protection against
unanticipated inflation, high and visible current cash flow and opportuni-
ties to exploit inefficiencies. At the portfolio level, natural resource invest-
ments provide attractive return prospects and significant diversification.
Yale has a 4.5% policy allocation to natural resources with expected real
returns of 8.5% and risk of 24.0%. Yale’s policy allocation is below the
6.6% natural resources allocation of the average endowment.
Superior operators have demonstrated the ability to generate excess
returns through market cycles. Over the past twenty years, Yale’s natural
resources portfolio has generated an impressive 13.6% per annum.

Real Estate Investments in real estate provide material diversification to the

Endowment. A steady flow of income with equity upside creates a
natural hedge against unanticipated inflation without sacrificing expected
return. Yale’s 9.5% policy allocation significantly exceeds the average
endowment’s commitment of 3.6%. Expected real returns are 5.5% with
risk of 16.0%.
While real estate markets sometimes produce dramatically cyclical
returns, pricing inefficiencies in the asset class and opportunities to add
value allow superior managers to generate excess returns over long time
horizons. Twenty-year returns for the portfolio stand at 8.3% per annum.

Venture Capital Venture capital investments produce compelling option-like returns, as

the university’s premier venture managers provide exposure to innovative
start-up companies from an early stage. Yale’s target venture capital allo-

Daniel J. Otto ’12

Associate Director

A sign on York Street encouraging social

distancing on campus.
10
 cation of 23.5% exceeds the 7.7% actual allocation of the average educa-
tional institution. The venture capital portfolio is expected to generate
real returns of 12.3% with risk of 37.8%.
Yale’s venture capital program, one of the first of its kind, is
regarded as among the best in the institutional investment community;
the university is frequently cited as a role model by other investors. Yale’s
venture capital managers field strong, cohesive and hungry teams with
proven ability to identify opportunities and support talented entrepre-
neurs. The university’s venture capital portfolio contains an unparalleled
set of manager relationships, significant market knowledge and an
John T. Ryan ’14
Associate Director extensive network. Over the past twenty years, the venture capital pro-
gram has earned 11.6% per annum.

Cash and Fixed Income Fixed income assets generate stable flows of income, providing more
certain nominal cash flow than any other Endowment asset class. The
fixed income portfolio exhibits a low covariance with other asset classes
and serves as a hedge against financial crises. While the typical education-
al institution’s allocation to fixed income and cash instruments is 12.2%,
Yale’s target allocation to fixed income and cash is 7.5%. Short-term
bonds have an expected real return of 0.0% with risk of 3.0%. The
Barclays Capital 6 to 12 Month U.S. Treasury Index serves as the
portfolio benchmark.
Yale is not particularly attracted to fixed income assets, as they
have the lowest expected returns of the eight asset classes that make up
the Endowment. In addition, the government bond market is the most
efficiently priced asset class, offering no opportunities to add significant
value through active management. Based on skepticism of active fixed
Celeste P. Benson income strategies and belief in the efficacy of a highly structured
Senior Portfolio Manager
approach to bond portfolio management, the Investments Office chooses
to manage Endowment bonds internally. Over the past twenty years, the
fixed income portfolio has generated returns of 3.7% per annum.

Asset Allocations Yale Educational

University Institution Mean
as of June 30, 2020
Absolute Return 21.6 % 20.0 %
Domestic Equity 2.3 21.7
Foreign Equity 11.4 19.8
Leveraged Buyouts 15.8 8.4
Natural Resources 3.9 6.6
Real Estate 8.6 3.6
Venture Capital 22.6 7.7
Cash & Fixed Income 13.7 12.2

Michael Knight
Senior Business Associate
11
 Investments Office Alumni
While Yale Investments Office alumni have pursued careers in fields ranging from investment management to business to govern-
ment to law, a significant number have gone on to serve in investment leadership positions at endowments or foundations.
Fourteen Investments Office alumni currently hold or have held the title of chief investment officer in the nonprofit world.

Peter Ammon ’05 MA, ’05 MBA serves as

Penn’s chief investment officer. Prior to
joining Penn in July 2013, he worked at
the Yale Investments Office. At Yale,
Peter was also a senior faculty fellow at
the Yale School of Management, where
he co-taught a class on endowment man-
agement. Prior to his time at Yale, Peter
worked at the Princeton University
Investment Company. Peter has served
on a number of nonprofit investment
committees, including most recently at
The Philadelphia School.
Peter holds an AB in Politics from
Princeton, an MA in International
Relations from Yale University and an
MBA from Yale University.
Seth D. Alexander, President, MIT Peter Ammon, Chief Investment
Investment Management Company Officer, University of Pennsylvania
“I cannot imagine a better place to have “My memories of the Yale Investments
learned the investment business than the Office inevitably begin with the people. The
Yale Investments Office with its exceptional Office has always been an extraordinary
leadership, fabulous team and standard- group, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have
setting investment thinking.” been surrounded by colleagues who were not
only friends and mentors, but people from
Seth Alexander ’95 is president of the
whom I learned every day.”
MIT Investment Management Company
(MITIMCo), a division of the Massa-
chusetts Institute of Technology.
MITIMCo manages the endowment,
retirement plan, retiree welfare benefit
plan and other financial assets of MIT.
Prior to joining MIT, Seth was a director
at the Yale Investments Office. At Yale,
Seth was a management fellow at the
Yale School of Management, co-teaching
a class on endowment management.
Seth co-authored a paper titled “Illiquid
Alternative Asset Fund Modeling” that
appeared in The Journal of Portfolio
Management in 2002.
Seth is a member of the board of
directors of the Whitehead Institute, a
member of the Whitehead Investment
Advisory Committee, an investment
committee member of the Beth Israel
Lahey Health Board of Managers and an
investment committee member of
CRICO, the risk management founda-
tion of Harvard Medical Institutions.
Seth earned a BS in Biology from
Yale University in 1995. One of the new lounges located on the north side of the Schwarzman Center.

12
Donna Dean, Former Chief Andrew K. Golden, President, Randy Kim, Chief Investment
Investment Officer, Princeton University Officer, Rainwater Charitable
The Rockefeller Foundation Investment Company Foundation
“Working in the Yale Investments Office “I often describe my time at the YIO as being “I will forever be grateful to David, Dean
and learning the craft of investing from the equivalent of a medical internship and resi- and the rest of my former YIO colleagues for
David Swensen was the most formative dency—it had that much impact on my profes- ten years of invaluable investment training
experience of my career. Being at Yale made sional and, indeed, intellectual development.” and personal mentorship. I am blessed for
it clear to me that I wanted to invest on the opportunity to have made so many great
Andy Golden ’89 MPPM became the
behalf of a nonprofit with a mission of mak- friends, and I wish my colleagues at Yale
third president of the Princeton Univer-
ing the world a better place.” every future success.”
sity Investment Company (Princo) in
Donna Dean joined the Rockefeller January 1995. He came to Princo from Randy Kim ’98 BA, ’04 MBA became the
Foundation in 1995. She served as its Duke Management Company, where he first chief investment officer of the $1
chief investment officer from 2001 was an investment director. He previously billion Rainwater Charitable Foundation
through 2019. Prior to joining the worked as a senior associate in the Yale (RCF) in 2017. Established by legendary
Rockefeller Foundation, Donna spent Investments Office. Before shifting his investor Richard Rainwater in 1991, RCF
seven years at Yale University, where she focus to investing, Andy was a profession- funds research to accelerate treatments in
served as director of investments, with al photographer. a class of neurodegenerative diseases
responsibility for real estate as well as Andy earned the Chartered Financial called tauopathies. The foundation also
oversight of the New Haven Initiative Analyst designation and is a member of supports a variety of children’s educa-
community investment program. From the New York Society of Security Ana- tional programs. Prior to joining RCF,
1984 to 1987, she worked for CIGNA lysts. He served as a founding member of Randy spent eight years as chief invest-
Investments in Hartford, where she the Investors’ Committee of the Presi- ment officer of the Conrad N. Hilton
managed real estate portfolios in the dent’s Working Group on Financial Foundation, which funds nonprofit
southeastern United States. From 1978 Markets, and previously served as a mem- organizations working to improve the
to 1984, she was with International ber of the board of directors of the NAB lives of individuals living in poverty and
Paper Company in New York, where she Asset Corporation, a publicly traded com- experiencing disadvantage throughout
served as manager of trust investments mercial loan workout specialist. He is a the world. He previously worked for a
and oversaw the company’s pension and trustee of the Princeton Area Community decade at the Yale Investments Office,
employee benefit funds. Foundation, Rita Allen Foundation and focusing primarily on the domestic equi-
Donna is an independent trustee of Rutgers Preparatory School. ty, foreign equity, international private
Harbor Funds and serves on the invest- Andy holds a BA in Philosophy from equity and absolute return portfolios.
ment committee of Queens University Duke University and an MPPM from the Randy is the most devoted Notre
of Charlotte. Yale School of Management. Dame football fan in America, despite
Donna received a bachelor’s degree his lack of a Notre Dame degree.
from Queens University in Charlotte, Randy holds a BA from Yale
North Carolina, and an MBA from the University and an MBA from the Yale
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. School of Management.

13
 of U.S. rowers for the highest levels of PhD from Yale’s Graduate School of Arts
international competition. Anne serves & Sciences.
on the investment committee for Smith
College and is an advisor to the David &
Lucile Packard Foundation investment
committee.
Anne is a cum laude graduate of
Smith College, Phi Beta Kappa, and holds
an MBA from Stanford Business School.

Anne Martin, Chief Investment

Officer, Wesleyan University
“I can’t imagine a better place than the Yale
Investments Office to learn the art and science Lauren Meserve, Senior Vice
of investment management. I’ll always be President and Chief Investment
thankful that David Swensen and Dean Officer, The Metropolitan Museum
Takahashi took a leap of faith to bring me of Art
into the fold. It’s hard to imagine an environ- “I view my time at the Yale Investments
ment that provides greater breadth in intellec- Office as a continuation of my undergradu-
tual challenges, cutting-edge thinking and ate education. Working with David and
exposure to the smartest people in the invest- Mary McLean, Former Chief Dean, I learned something new every day.”
ing world, a group that includes not only Investment Officer, Ewing Marion
Kauffman Foundation Lauren Meserve ’93 is the senior vice presi-
Yale’s investment managers, but my colleagues
dent and chief investment officer of The
within the Yale Investments Office.” “I remember the Yale Investments Office as Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she
Anne Martin became Wesleyan a place where ideas live free and extravagant oversees the management of the museum’s
University’s chief investment officer in lives, a source of wonder and delight for its $4.0 billion investment portfolio. Lauren
2010. She was previously a director at human inhabitants. I am grateful for my joined the museum in 2002, was named
the Yale Investments Office, where she time there.” chief investment officer in 2014, and
worked on the natural resources and pri- Mary McLean ’88 MBA, ’94 PhD is the became senior vice president and chief
vate equity portfolios. Prior to joining former chief investment officer of the investment officer in 2017. Previously
Yale, Anne worked as a general partner Kauffman Foundation, which builds and Lauren worked at the Andrew W. Mellon
of private equity firm Rosewood Capital supports programs that improve educa- Foundation, where she assisted in the man-
in San Francisco, where she focused on tion, boost entrepreneurship and help its agement of the foundation’s endowment,
Internet, software and business service hometown of Kansas City thrive. Mary collaborated on The Shape of the River:
investments. Prior to that, Anne was a retired from this position in 2018. Prior Long-Term Consequences of Considering Race
managing director in the technology to joining the Kauffman Foundation in in College and University Admissions (Bowen
practice at Alex. Brown, where she 1996, Mary was a senior associate with and Bok) and The Game of Life: College
worked on corporate finance and merg- the Yale Investments Office, where she Sports and Educational Values (Bowen and
ers and acquisitions in the information was introduced to the opportunities and Shulman) and coordinated projects for
technology sector. challenges of endowment management. Artstor. Lauren began her career at the Yale
Anne was a co-founder, board mem- She began her career at Morgan Stanley, Investments Office.
ber and board chair of the Packard primarily in technology roles, but even- Lauren serves on the boards of the
Center for ALS Research at Johns tually as a quantitative analyst. Wenner-Gren Foundation for
Hopkins, an innovative nonprofit organ- Currently, Mary serves as an advisor Anthropological Research and the
ization dedicated to finding therapies for to several investment funds and is American Friends of the National Gallery,
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. She was engaged as a community volunteer in the London.
part of the national rowing team from areas of food security and COVID-19 Lauren has a bachelor’s degree in
1985 to 1988 and has served as a director prevention. She is a CFA charterholder. Anthropology from Yale University and a
and co-chair of the National Rowing Mary earned a bachelor’s degree in master’s degree in Public Policy with a cer-
Foundation, a nonprofit organization Math at Brown University, an MBA from tificate in Demography from the Princeton
devoted to preparing the next generation the Yale School of Management and a School of Public and International Affairs.
14
Kimberly Sargent, Chief Investment conserve and restore the earth’s natural
Officer, David & Lucile Packard systems. Kim joined the Packard
Foundation Foundation in 2008 as the institution
was building an investment team for the
“It was a great honor to be a small part of a
first time, after having held Hewlett-
team of such talented investment professionals
Packard stock historically; she helped to
at the Yale Investments Office for three years.
establish the institutional-quality portfo-
As a recent college graduate, I benefited from
lio and recruit the twelve-person team
an intense lesson in all aspects of the world of
that exists today. Prior to joining the
investment management. As a lover of learn-
foundation, Kim was an associate at
ing, I was in an environment in which intellec-
McKinsey & Company’s San Francisco
tual honesty and rigor were applied toward the
office, where she served financial institu-
challenge of earning superior returns. And as
tions on various projects, and prior to
someone who cared about doing good in the
business school she was a senior analyst
world, I was thrilled to see the results of our
at the Yale Investments Office, where she
work go to benefit the university and the globe.”
specialized in international equities and
Kim Sargent ’00 is the chief investment served as research assistant to chief
officer at the David & Lucile Packard investment officer David Swensen for his
Foundation, responsible for investing the second book, Unconventional Success.
foundation’s $8 billion portfolio across Kim is a CFA charter holder and a
public and private equities, hedge funds, fellow of the inaugural class of the Aspen
fixed income, real estate and natural Institute’s Finance Leaders Fellowship.
resources. The foundation uses the pro- Kim graduated from Yale University
ceeds from these investments to support with a BA in History, magna cum laude,
programs that improve the lives of chil- and from Stanford’s Graduate School of
dren, enable the creative pursuit of sci- Business with an MBA.
ence, advance reproductive health, and

D. Ellen Shuman, Co-Founder, cer of Carnegie Corporation of New

Edgehill Endowment Partners York, a private foundation, from 1999 to
“Working at the Yale Investments Office 2011. As the foundation’s first chief
under David’s leadership grounded me in investment officer, she built the invest-
important first principles of investing and ment office and implemented a set of
the confidence to think independently. strategies that dramatically diversified the
Thirty-five years later it is incredibly special portfolio—globally and by asset class.
to share so many long-standing friendships Prior to Carnegie Corporation, Ellen
with my fellow Yale colleagues!” worked at the Yale Investments Office,
focusing on real estate, energy and fixed-
D. Ellen Shuman ’84 MPPM has worked income asset classes, including the uni-
in the field of endowment management versity’s debt issuance. She taught several
for over thirty years, serving institutions courses at Yale College and the Yale
of higher education and philanthropy. School of Management on finance and
More recently, in April 2020, she has real estate investing.
embraced public service through her Ellen received the Institutional
appointment by Governor Lamont to the Investor Magazine Lifetime Achievement
State of Connecticut’s Investment Award in 2014 and the Award for Excel-
Advisory Council (IAC), which advises lence in Investment Management–
the state treasurer on the investment of Foundations—in 2006. She was appointed
the state’s pension assets. In 2013, Ellen a member of the Investors’ Committee of
co-founded Edgehill Endowment the President’s Working Group on
Partners, a firm that operates as a full- Financial Markets in 2008. Currently Ellen
service investment office to steward the is on the board of JBG Smith, a REIT
endowment assets of a limited number of based in Washington, D.C.
mission-based institutions. Edgehill Ellen received a BA, magna cum
manages approximately $2 billion on laude, from Bowdoin College; an MPPM
behalf of four clients in global, diversi- from the Yale School of Management; and
fied portfolios. In early 2020, she transi- earned the CFA designation in 1992.
tioned to a strategic role at Edgehill.
Ellen served as the chief investment offi-
15
 Paula Volent, Chief Investment County Museum of Art and the National
Officer and Senior Vice President, Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. She
Bowdoin College also ran a private paper conservation stu-
“My skills in endowment management and dio in Los Angeles.
my passion for investing began at the Yale Paula serves as a board member of
Investments Office and at the Yale School of MSCI. She serves on the board of advi-
Management. Under David Swensen’s lead- sors of the Yale School of Management,
ership, I learned to be curious, to seek out as a member of the investment commit-
market inefficiencies and to highly value the tee of the Pritzker Family Foundation, as
opportunity to support access to a high-qual- a member of the advisory board of Girls
ity education through growing endowment Who Invest, as an advisory board mem-
support of financial aid. At Bowdoin I have ber of the University for Asian Women,
put what I learned at Yale to work, doubling as a trustee of the Skowhegan School of
the endowment’s percentage support of Art and Painting and as an investment
financial aid, allowing the college to contin- committee member of the Rockefeller
ue to be need blind and no-loan.” Foundation. She is also a member of the
Milken Institute’s Global Markets
Paula Volent ’98 MBA is chief investment Advisory Council and a member of the
officer and senior vice president at advisory board of the Private Capital
Bowdoin College, a private, residential Research Institute at Harvard University.
college in Brunswick, Maine. At Bowdoin, Paula has a BA from the University
Paula is responsible for the oversight and of New Hampshire; a master’s in Art
management of the college’s endowment. History from the Institute of Fine Arts at
Prior to joining Bowdoin in July 2000, New York University; a Certificate in
Paula was a senior associate at the Yale Conservation from the Conservation
Investments Office. Prior to focusing on Center at NYU, with a specialization in
endowment management, Paula worked the conservation of works of art on
as a paper conservator at the New-York paper; and an MBA from the Yale
Historical Society, the San Francisco School of Management.
Palace of Fine Arts, the Los Angeles

Robert F. Wallace, Chief Executive teen-year dance career began at the

Officer, Stanford Management Washington Ballet, continued at
Company American Ballet Theatre under the direc-
“The Yale Investments Office, like the uni- tion of Mikhail Baryshnikov and con-
versity itself, is a place of light and truth. It cluded at the Boston Ballet. Rob danced
was a privilege and an inspiration to have principal roles in substantially all of the
worked with David Swensen and Dean great classical ballets. His repertoire in
Takahashi early in my career and I consider contemporary works included leading
myself fortunate to count as colleagues many roles in ballets by Balanchine, Robbins,
of the other wonderful professionals who Tudor, De Mille, Tharp, Morris, York,
have been part of the Investments Office Goh, Lubavitch and Taylor.
through the years.” Rob is a member of the Council on
Foreign Relations. He has previously
Robert Wallace ’02 is the chief executive served as trustee of the English National
officer of Stanford Management Ballet, the Royal Opera House, Covent
Company, where he oversees Stanford Garden and the Royal Ballet School.
University’s $30 billion investment port- Rob received a degree in Economics
folio. Prior to joining Stanford in 2015, from Yale University, graduating summa
Rob was the chief executive officer of cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.
Alta Advisers, a London-based invest-
ment firm that pursues a global and
diversified investment strategy on behalf
of one of Europe’s most philanthropic
families. Rob’s investment career began
at the Yale Investments Office. Prior to
his work in investment management,
Rob was a classical ballet dancer. His six-

16
 sets from the institutional world to
Truvvo’s clients. Prior to Truvvo, Casey
was the chief investment officer of The
New York Public Library. She joined the
Library as the first chief investment offi-
cer with a mandate to create the office of
investments. Her responsibilities includ-
ed asset allocation, manager selection and
overall management of the endowment,
which is invested across various tradi-
tional and alternative asset classes. Before
The New York Public Library, she was
director of public investments for The
Rockefeller University, focusing primarily
on global equities, hedge funds and fixed
income. She was heavily involved in asset
allocation, overall portfolio management
and the establishment of the university’s
Casey D. Whalen, Chief Executive real estate allocation. Casey began her Ana Yankova, Chief Investment
Officer and Chief Investment Officer, investment career at the Yale Investments Officer, Mount Holyoke College
Truvvo Partners Office working across various asset class- “Deeply committed to the university’s mission,
“My years at the Yale Investments Office es, including foreign equity, real estate David and Dean led a team that showed up
were extraordinarily impactful on my life. and fixed income. She went on to work every day to deliver excellence. Our Monday
David Swensen’s guidance as a mentor, for one of Yale’s real estate investment morning team meetings provided me with a
teacher and advocate laid the foundation for managers. front row seat at a master class in investing.
my career trajectory and, more importantly, Casey is a board member and treas- My biggest lesson from my time at Yale was
for my business ethics, critical thinking skills urer of the Yale Swimming and Diving that asking the right questions is as important
and intellectually honest approach to invest- Association, having been a member of as finding good answers.”
ing. I am so grateful for David’s professional the Yale Varsity Women’s Swimming
team. Casey is a CFA charterholder and In April 2020, Mount Holyoke College
support and friendship all these years, as named Ana Yankova its inaugural chief
well as the close relationships from our member of the New York Society of
Security Analysts. She serves on the investment officer. Before that, Ana was a
tight-knit group.” partner at global investment firm
investment committee of the Rockefeller
Casey Whalen ’96 founded Truvvo Family Fund. Casey is a member and Cambridge Associates. Previously, Ana
Partners, where she serves as the chief board member of the New York City was a senior financial analyst at the Yale
executive officer and chief investment chapter of GenNext. Investments Office and an associate
officer. She believes deeply in alignment Casey holds a BA from Yale analyst at the National Economic
with clients and investments, and in pro- University. Research Associates. She was born and
viding the benefits, resources and skill raised in Bulgaria.
Ana graduated from Mount Holyoke
College with a bachelor’s degree in
Economics and earned an MBA from the
MIT Sloan School of Management.

17
 Spending Policy The spending rule is at the heart of fiscal discipline for an endowed
institution. Spending policies define an institution’s compromise between

4
the conflicting goals of providing support for current operations and
preserving purchasing power of Endowment assets. The spending rule
must be clearly defined and consistently applied for the concept of budget
balance to have meaning.
The Endowment spending policy, which allocates Endowment
earnings to operations, balances the competing objectives of providing a
stable flow of income to the operating budget and protecting the real
value of the Endowment. The spending policy manages the trade-off
between these two objectives by combining a long-term spending rate
target with a smoothing rule, which adjusts spending in any given year
gradually in response to changes in Endowment market value.
The target spending rate approved by the Yale Corporation cur-
rently stands at 5.25%. According to the smoothing rule, Endowment
spending in a given year sums to 80% of the previous year’s spending and
20% of the targeted long-term spending rate applied to the market value
at the start of the prior year. The spending amount determined by the
formula is adjusted for inflation and taxes, subject to the constraint that

A recent exhibition at the Beinecke Library highlighted photographs by Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964) of such figures as Billie Holiday, Paul Robeson
and (at far right, a photograph dated 1940) author Zora Neale Hurston
18
 the calculated rate is at least 4.0% and not more than 6.5% of the
Endowment’s inflation-adjusted market value at the start of the prior year.
The smoothing rule and the diversified nature of the Endowment are
designed to mitigate the impact of short-term market volatility on the flow
of funds to support Yale’s operations.
The spending rule has two implications. First, by incorporating the
prior year’s spending, the rule eliminates large fluctuations, enabling the
university to plan for its operating budget needs. Over the last twenty years,
the standard deviation of annual changes in actual spending has been
approximately 85% of the standard deviation of Endowment returns.
Bertan Akin
Senior Performance Manager Second, by adjusting spending toward the long-term target spending level,
the rule ensures that spending will be sensitive to fluctuating Endowment
market values, providing stability in long-term purchasing power.
Distributions to the operating budget rose from $1.1 billion in fiscal
2010 to $1.4 billion in fiscal 2020. The university projects spending of $1.5
billion from the Endowment in fiscal 2021, representing approximately 36%
of revenues.

Ahmed L. Sarhan ’16

Senior Associate

Spending Growth Surpasses Inflation 1950–2020

$1,600

$1,400

$1,200

$1,000
Millions

$800

$600

$400

$200

$0
1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020

Fiscal Year

1950 Spending Inflated Spending from Post-1950 Endowment Gifts Inflated Actual Spending
19
 Investment Performance Yale has produced excellent long-term investment returns. Over the
ten-year period ending June 30, 2020, the Endowment earned an annual-

5
ized 10.9% return, net of fees, placing Yale in the top 2% of colleges and
universities. Over the same period, domestic stocks returned 13.7% and
domestic bonds returned 3.8%. Endowment outperformance stems from
sound asset allocation policy and superior active management.
Yale’s long-term superior performance relative to its peers and
benchmarks creates substantial wealth for the university. Over the ten
years ending June 30, 2020, Yale added $9.5 billion relative to the average
return of a broad universe of college and university endowments and
$10.3 billion relative to its passive benchmark.

Performance by Yale’s long-term asset class performance continues to be outstanding. In

the past ten years, nearly every asset class posted superior returns, outper-
Asset Class forming benchmark levels.
Over the past decade, the absolute return portfolio produced an
annualized 5.3% return, exceeding the passive Barclays 9 to 12 Month U.S.
Treasury Index by 4.4% per year and besting its active benchmark by
3.0% per year. For the ten-year period, absolute return results exhibited
little correlation to traditional marketable securities.
The domestic equity portfolio returned an annualized 12.8% for
the ten years ending June 30, 2020, outperforming the BNY Median
Manager return, net of estimated fees, by 0.1% per year but underper-
forming the Wilshire 5000 Index by 1.0% per year.
The foreign equity portfolio generated an annual return of 15.8%
over the ten-year period, outperforming its composite passive benchmark
by 10.7% per year and the BNY Median Manager return, net of estimated
fees, by 10.8% per year. The portfolio’s excess return is due to effective
security selection by active managers and astute country allocation.
Leveraged buyouts generated an annualized 14.6% return over the
decade, outperforming the composite passive benchmark by 4.9% per
Ryan A. Healy year and the pool of buyout managers compiled by Cambridge Associates
Manager of Business Intelligence by 0.4% per year.

Yale’s Performance Exceeds Peer Results

July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2020, 2010 = $100
Growth of

Endowment Mean of Broad Universe of Colleges and Universities Inflation

20
 Yale’s natural resources portfolio produced an annualized return of
4.4% over the past decade, surpassing its composite passive benchmark
by 10.1% per year and outperforming the Cambridge Associates natural
resources manager pool by 4.0% per year.
Real estate generated a 9.7% annualized return over the ten-year
period, outperforming the MSCI U.S. REIT Index by 1.9% per year, but
underperforming the pool of Cambridge Associates real estate managers
by 0.8% per year.
The venture capital portfolio earned an annualized return of 21.3%
for the ten years ending June 30, 2020, exceeding its composite passive
Michael J. Byrnes ’18
Senior Investment Analyst benchmark by 9.0% per year and the Cambridge Associates venture
capital and growth equity manager pool by 5.6% per year.
Yale’s internally managed fixed income portfolio earned an annu-
alized 1.2% over the past decade, in line with the passive index.

Most Yale Asset Class Results Beat Benchmarks

July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2020
25%

20%

Claire D. Goldsmith ’18 15%

Senior Investment Analyst
10%

5%

0%

-5%

-10%
Absolute Domestic Foreign Leveraged Natural Real Estate* Venture Short-term
Return Equity Equity Buyouts* Resources* Capital* Fixed Income

Yale Return Passive Benchmark Active Benchmark

* Yale Returns and Active Benchmarks are dollar-weighted.

Ilana M. Kamber ’18
Passive Benchmarks Active Benchmarks
Senior Investment Analyst Absolute Return: Barclays 9-12 Month U.S. Treasury Index Absolute Return: Credit Suisse and Inverse Wilshire 5000
Domestic Equity: Wilshire 5000 Index Composite
Foreign Equity: Blend of msci eafe Investable Market Index, Domestic Equity: bny Median Manager, U.S. Large-Cap
msci Emerging Markets Investable Market Index, Equity, with fee adjustment of 78 basis points per annum
msci China A Share Investable Market Index Foreign Equity: bny Median Manager Composite, Foreign
Leveraged Buyouts: Blend of Russell 2000, MSCI World ex-U.S. Equity, with fee adjustment of 81 basis points per annum
Small-Cap Index, msci China All Shares Mid-Cap Index fordeveloped equity and 97 basis points per annum for
Natural Resources: Blend of Custom Timber reit Basket, S&P emerging equity
O&G Exploration & Production Index, Custom Agriculture Leveraged Buyouts: Cambridge Associates Global Leveraged
reit Basket Buyouts
Real Estate: msci U.S. reit Index Natural Resources: Cambridge Associates Natural Resources
Venture Capital: Blend of Russell 2000 Technology Index, Real Estate: Cambridge Associates Real Estate
nasdaq Biotechnology Index, msci China Small-Cap Venture Capital: Blend of Cambridge Associates Global Venture
Index, msci India Small-Cap Index Capital and Cambridge Associates Global Growth Equity
Fixed Income: Barclays Capital 6-12 Month U.S. Treasury
Index (Barclays 1-3 Year Treasury from October 2013 to
June 2018, Barclays 1-5 Year Treasury from July 2010 to
September 2013)

Jordi M. Bofill ’19

Investment Analyst
21
 Management and Since 1975, the Yale Corporation Investment Committee has been respon-
sible for oversight of the Endowment, incorporating senior-level invest-
Oversight

6
ment experience into portfolio policy formulation. The Investment
Committee consists of at least three Fellows of the Corporation and other
persons who have particular investment expertise. The Committee meets
quarterly, at which time members review asset allocation policies,
Endowment performance and strategies proposed by Investments Office
staff. The Committee approves guidelines for investment of the
Endowment portfolio, specifying investment objectives, spending policy
and approaches for the investment of each asset category.

Investment Committee Douglas A. Warner, III ’68 Ben Inker ’92

Chairman Partner
Former Chairman gmo
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
Peter Salovey ’86 PhD
O. Francis Biondi, Jr. ’87 President
Founder and Former Managing Partner Yale University
King Street Capital Management
John Shrewsberry ’92 MPPM
Michael J. Cavanagh ’88 Former cfo
Senior Executive Vice President and cfo Wells Fargo & Company
Comcast Corporation
Carter Simonds ’99
Anne Glover ’78 MPPM Former Managing Director
ceo and Co-Founder Blue Ridge Capital
Amadeus Capital Partners
Josh L. Steiner ’87
Charles W. Goodyear iv ’80 Senior Advisor
President Bloomberg l.p.
Goodyear Investment Company
Joseph T. Doran ’20
Investment Analyst

Yusuke Imamura ’20

Investment Analyst

The recently inaugurated Tsai Center for

Innovative Thinking, with Becton
Engineering Center at the right, SSS Tower in
the distance.
22
 The Investments Office manages the Endowment and other university
financial assets, and defines and implements the university’s borrowing
strategies. Headed by the Chief Investment Officer, the Office currently
consists of thirty-two professionals.

Investments Office David F. Swensen ’80 PhD, ’14 LHD Daniel J. Otto ’12
Chief Investment Officer Associate Director

Carrie A. Abildgaard John T. Ryan ’14

Director Associate Director

Alexander C. Banker Celeste P. Benson

Director Senior Portfolio Manager

Amy M. Chivetta Michael Knight

Director Senior Business Associate

Alan S. Forman Bertan Akin

Director Senior Performance Manager

R. Alexander Hetherington ’06 Ahmed L. Sarhan ’16

Director Senior Associate

Lisa M. Howie ’00, ’08 MBA Ryan A. Healy

Joyce E. Koltisko ’18
Director Manager of Business Intelligence
Investment Analyst

Matthew S. T. Mendelsohn ’07 Michael J. Byrnes ’18

Director Senior Investment Analyst

John V. Ricotta ’08 Claire D. Goldsmith ’18

Director Senior Investment Analyst

Timothy R. Sullivan ’86 Ilana M. Kamber ’18

Director Senior Investment Analyst

Xinchen Wang ’09 Jordi M. Bofill ’19

Director Investment Analyst

Stephanie S. Chan ’97 Joseph T. Doran ’20

Senior Associate General Counsel Investment Analyst
Vishal V. Patel ’20
Investment Analyst Deborah S. Chung Yusuke Imamura ’20
Senior Associate General Counsel Investment Analyst

Lauren Caplan Joyce E. Koltisko ’18

Associate General Counsel Investment Analyst

Sohail S. Ramirez ’10 JD Vishal V. Patel ’20

Associate General Counsel Investment Analyst

Peter N. Steinwachs Cheryl M. Xiang ’18

Associate General Counsel Investment Analyst

Cheryl M. Xiang ’18

Investment Analyst
23
Sachem’s Wood, the small park at the foot of Photo taken from the fifth floor of the
Science Hill, is shown after its recent makeover, Yale Science Building with the generous
which includes new landscaping, plantings, assistance of Carol Hwang.
paved pathways and outdoor seating areas.
Alice Cinema, one of two auditoriums added on below-ground stories in the newly renovated Humanities Quadrangle.

Sources
Financial and Investment Information
Educational institution asset allocations and returns from Cambridge Associates.
Much of the material in this publication is drawn from memoranda produced by
the Investments Office for the Yale Corporation Investment Committee. Other
material comes from Yale’s financial records, Reports of the Treasurer, and Reports
of the President.

Investments Office Alumni

Biographical information provided by the subjects.

Photo Sources
Portraits of alumni were provided by the individuals shown.
Yale Investments Office staff photos by Mara Lavitt.
Page 1, Swensen Tower logo by Kaleigh Kurpiewski.
Page 1, Swensen Tower plaque and gate photos by Taylor Yovino.
Page 1, David Swensen photo by Michael Marsland, Office of Public Affairs
and Communications.
Inside back cover, bulldog photo by Dan Renzetti.
Front and back covers and all other photos by Tom Strong.

Design
Strong Cohen, llc / Margaret Watkins

Front cover:
Humanities Quadrangle, 320 York Street. See commentary, page 1.
Yale President Peter Salovey ’86 PhD with young Kingman, who will
Back cover: reign as Handsome Dan XIX. He was named for Kingman Brewster,
Nine stained-glass windows, created in about 1930, selected from approxi- Jr., President of Yale University from 1963 to 1977, a historic period
mately fifty similar windows in the student lounge on the ground floor of which included the change to coeducation and the introduction of
the renovated Humanities Quadrangle. need-blind admissions in Yale College.