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Harvard vs. Yale: Which Is The Best Investor ?

FYI: The annual investment showdown between America’s two wealthiest universities is becoming one-sided.
Regards,
Ted
http://online.wsj.com/articles/yales-endowment-tops-harvards-again-in-battle-of-investment-returns-1415048450

Comments

  • edited November 2014
    Your kidding right? My wife could beat these returns! with no help from me and her own picks from 5 min.looking over Funds!

    Their Real Record during the best (5 yr) market in the last century:

    Harvard’s endowment posted annual average gains of 1.7 percent in the five years ended June 30, 2013, according to data compiled by Charles Skorina & Co. That compares with annual returns of 6.8 percent at Columbia University, 5.4 percent at University of Pennsylvania and 3.3 percent at Yale University.

    .http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-18/harvard-money-managers-exit-on-subpar-private-equity-bets.html
  • "Your kidding right? My wife could beat these returns! with no help from me and her own picks from 5 min.looking over Funds! "

    It becomes what is the purpose of these funds. Is it to hit home runs every year and take a lot of risk or is to try and preserve and gradually grow capital over time? There have been instances in the past of these funds taking risky bets and having it become an issue for the institution - see Larry Summers and his bet on interest rate derivatives at Harvard that went wrong.
  • edited November 2014
    Tampabay said:

    Your kidding right? My wife could beat these returns! with no help from me and her own picks from 5 min.looking over Funds!

    Their Real Record during the best (5 yr) market in the last century:

    Harvard’s endowment posted annual average gains of 1.7 percent in the five years ended June 30, 2013, according to data compiled by Charles Skorina & Co. That compares with annual returns of 6.8 percent at Columbia University, 5.4 percent at University of Pennsylvania and 3.3 percent at Yale University.

    7/1/2008 to 6/30/2013 was hardly the "best five year market" in the last century. The investment in VTSMX from 7/1/2008 - 6/30/2013 turned $10,000 into $14,254.52, an annual return of 7.3%, well below the average yearly return of 11.5% for the S&P 500 from 1928-2013.

    That period did, however, coincide with the worst sustained market downturn in over 70 years. and turned $10,000 into $5381.58 on 3/6/2009. (The same investment in VWELX turned $10,000 into an almost identical $14,169.26, an annual return of 7.1%, and only lost 30.5% on 3/6/09.)

    Harvard lost ~27% in the downturn. Yale lost 24.6%. As Scott pointed out, endowments that size do not act like individual's portfolios and shouldn't be judged the same way. At the very least, one has to consider that money is constantly being distributed to fund massive research institutions. That David Swenson somehow returned slightly less than the market over the period, with less volatility than the most recognizable 60/40 portfolio in the world, is remarkable.
  • Sorry they Both stink! 1.7% for Harvard and 3.3% for Yale, and you want me to tell you which University has the best endowment fund investors ? Even the other Universities got at least Double those returns. Maybe they could call Bogle, or my wife, either would double their returns...
  • Tampabay said:

    Sorry they Both stink! 1.7% for Harvard and 3.3% for Yale, and you want me to tell you which University has the best endowment fund investors ? Even the other Universities got at least Double those returns. Maybe they could call Bogle, or my wife, either would double their returns...

    7.1; 6.8; 5.0; 5.1; 4.9. Those are the distribution %ages Yale took from its endowment between FY2009 and FY2013. While still returning 3.3 total%.

    But hey, if you or your wife could do better, Yale is hiring.
  • edited November 2014
    No Way would they hire her, and double their returns overnight, the embarrassment!,
    She graduated from Greenfield High School, and couldn't explain the difference between an ETF and a Mutual Fund, But she can make more money investing than those Yale Morons. She doesn't take Distributions, she don't need the money!
  • Tampabay said:

    She doesn't take Distributions, she doesn't need the money!

    I rest my case.
  • TedTed
    edited November 2014
    The real question is who has the best football team and fight song.
    Regards,
    Ted
    Football: Harvard vs. Yale:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard–Yale_football_rivalry

    Harvard:

    Yale:
  • Ok, Darcey you can do corrections..
    Lets try investing: Give me 5 advantages of ETFs over Mutual Funds, since your on a mutual fund Site....I'm interested
    Warning: My wife can get three of them
  • edited November 2014
    Hi Tamapbay,

    I suggest you get your wife to contact Harvard and seek out an opportunity to run their money. In this way, she can hire you as an consultant. Mine told me she was not interested even though her portfolio bettered Harvard's. Perhaps she would hire both of us and maybe a few others also could get packaged into the deal.

    Old_Skeet
  • My Wife's investments are balanced funds, high yield bonds, high Dividend blue chip stocks.. she motors along at +8/9 % ea.year and when I don't beat her, I get that look
    So I insure..no chance of that
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