Emory's endowment rose 15.0 percent over the one-year period ending June 30, 2011, according to the National Association of College and Universities Business Officers (NACUBO).

The endowment increased from $4.7 billion to $5.4 billion.  The percentage change in the market value of the endowment reflects the net impact of University spending withdrawals, management and investment fees, donor gifts, and investment gains (rate of return).

Figures were released in annual rankings for the nation's largest endowments in higher education in the 2011 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments (NCSE), which gathered data from 823 U.S. colleges, universities and affiliated foundations. 

Emory's rate of return on the actively managed funds in its endowment was 18.7 percent for the one-year period.  The average rate of return for schools with endowments over $1 billion was 20.1 percent.  The average return for all schools surveyed was 19.2 percent. In NCSE's fiscal year 2011 survey—as in FY10—Emory ranked 16th overall in market value of its endowment.

"Our result for the one-year period reflects strong equity market performance, as this environment was a benefit to our investment portfolio.  Other diversified strategies also earned positive returns, yet overall were not as high as those in equity-driven strategies," says Mary Cahill, vice president for investments and chief investment officer.

"We are pleased with our strong results as reported in NCSE, however, challenges remain going forward given the current economic environment and market returns have deteriorated since the summer," says Cahill.