Large U.S. university endowments are on track to match or even outperform the broader stock market, helped by big holdings in SpaceX, OpenAI, and other technology companies. According to Sina Finance, Cambridge Associates said some endowments are expected to “significantly outperform” the S&P 500, which rose more than 20% in the 12 months through June 30.
Margaret Chen, global head of endowment and foundation business at the consulting firm, said returns have benefited from “a small number of exceptionally strong private companies” and added that the median endowment return will be “quite impressive.” Most endowments have not yet reported results for the year, partly because valuing some private assets takes time.
According to Sina Finance, the National Association of College and University Business Officers and Commonfund found that university endowments with more than $5 billion in assets posted an annualized return of 7.8% in the three years through June 2025, compared with 19.7% for the S&P 500 over the same period.
This year, however, the trend has reversed. Harvard University’s endowment held about $2.2 billion of SpaceX shares as of June 30, its largest single public-market stock position ever, according to regulatory filings and people familiar with the matter. The University of North Carolina endowment also benefited from an early SpaceX bet, while the University of Colorado Foundation reported a 20.3% annual return through June. Washington University Investment Management said 2026 will be a good year, driven mainly by SpaceX, Cerebras Systems, and other co-investments.
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