Brown endowment largest in R.I. in fiscal 2014

BROWN UNIVERSITY may have had the largest endowment out of colleges and universities in Rhode Island in fiscal 2014, but Salve Regina University had the largest percentage gain at 17.3 percent, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. / COURTESY CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
BROWN UNIVERSITY may have had the largest endowment out of colleges and universities in Rhode Island in fiscal 2014, but Salve Regina University had the largest percentage gain at 17.3 percent, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. / COURTESY CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

(Updated 10:35 a.m. and 11 a.m.)PROVIDENCE – Brown University may have had the largest endowment out of colleges and universities in Rhode Island in fiscal 2014, but Salve Regina University had the largest percentage gain at 17.3 percent.
The Chronicle of Higher Education released its annual study on college and university endowments from 2013-2014, using information from the National Association of College and University Business Officers, known as Nacubo, and the Commonfund Institute.

The Chronicle reported that the improving economy contributed to a second strong year in a row for colleges’ endowment returns, with endowments returning an average of 15.5 percent in the 2014 fiscal year. In 2013, endowments rose an average of 11.7 percent. In 2012, investments returns were a negative 0.3 percent, on average.
The Ivy League Brown University reported a $3 billion endowment in fiscal 2014, an 11.1 percent increase over the previous fiscal period, when $2.7 billion was reported. It ranked No. 30 on the list of 851 colleges and universities.
Harvard University in Massachusetts topped the list with its $35.9 billion endowment, an 11 percent increase from fiscal 2013.
Salve Regina, a Catholic university in Newport, reported a 17.3 percent increase, to $58.6 million. Next was the University of Rhode Island with a 15.5 percent increase, to $119 million, followed by Rhode Island College in Providence, with a 14.3 percent increase, to $26 million. Roger Williams University in Bristol had a 13.9 percent hike, to $90 million, and Bryant University, a 12.6 percent increase, to $172 million.
Johnson & Wales University reported a 11.5 percent increase, to $272 million, and Rhode Island School of Design, 7.9 percent, to $337.9 million.

Rhode Island School of Design ranked No. 223, coming in a distant second to Brown regarding its endowment total. Other ranks were as follows: Johnson & Wales, No. 254; Bryant, No. 337; Roger Williams, No. 477; Salve Regina, No. 584; and Rhode Island College, No. 728.

In nearby Massachusetts, Wheaton College in Norton, reported a 9.9 percent gain in its endowment, to $193.5 million, ranking it No. 312, while Stonehill College in Easton reported an 11.5 percent gain, to $190 million, ranking it No. 317.
The University of Massachusetts system ranked No. 124 for its $757.5 million endowment, and posted a 14 percent gain for the year.
The change in market value does not represent the rate of return for the institution’s investments. The change in the market value of an endowment from fiscal 2013 to fiscal 2014 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, and investment gains or losses.

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John D. Walda, Nacubo’s president and chief executive, said endowment growth showed both an improving economy and smarter investing.
“From the S&P to the Dow to the World Index, all of them did well for this period,” he said in a statement. “And that’s where these assets are invested.”
The most successful asset class was domestic equities, with an average return of 22.8 percent – a product of “growth in value of the domestic stock market,” Walda said.
The study also noted a rise in the share of institutions that practice risk management in their portfolios, with 57 percent of participating colleges employing those strategies, seven points more than in 2013, the first year that the topic was included in the study. Jarvis said that means more administrators are appreciating the importance of monitoring risk.

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