Harvard Endowment returns 8.1% in ‘disappointing’ fiscal year 2017

Harvard University’s endowment, the world’s largest academic fund, reported an 8.1 percent return in the fiscal year ending June 30, according to a report issued by Harvard Management Co. (HMC), which oversees the university’s endowment.

“Our performance is disappointing and not where it needs to be,” said Nirmal “Narv” Narvekar, president and CEO at Harvard Management Co. “The endowment’s returns are a symptom of deep structural problems at HMC and the resultant significant issues in the portfolio.” Narvekar was hired in 2016 to help rehabilitate the University’s struggling investment arm.

The returns, which brought the value of the endowment to $37.1 billion, are the worst of roughly 20 institutional investors who have released their figures for fiscal year 2017, some of which include the Orange County (Calif.) Employees Retirement System, which recorded a 9.5