Harvard Endowment Returns 9.6% as Private Equity Allocation Holds Near Record

Harvard Management Company reported a 9.6% net return for its fiscal year in its annual report released Thursday, with the $53 billion endowment maintaining a private equity allocation above 40% of total assets despite a challenging exit environment for the asset class broadly.

CEO N.P. Narvekar reiterated that the endowment continues to manage a large legacy book of older private equity vintages while committing new capital at a more measured pace than in the mid-2010s peak years.

Liquidity management

The report noted that distributions from the private portfolio remain below the historical average relative to called capital, a dynamic Harvard shares with most large university endowments navigating the slower exit environment of the past three years.