2019-2020 Endowment Report

Global economies plunged into recession and capital market volatility soared during the second half of the fiscal year, triggered by the pandemic. U.S. public equities took only 16 trading days to drop 20% (the definition of a “bear” market), the fastest drop on record, eclipsing the 44 days it took in 1929. As spring came around, however, the old adage of “Don’t fight the Fed” materialized. The tremendous amount of stimulus provided by central banks and governments not only calmed panicked markets, but also led to a massive rally. Since public equity represents a significant portion of our endowment portfolio, we benefited from this change of direction. The endowment was up about 12% during the June quarter, leading to a full fiscal year result of about +0.3% (please note these returns are incomplete, since we do not yet have returns for private capital due to the reporting lag). The market value was $554.8 million at year end.

The Miami endowments provide vital support through the annual spending distribution. The policy formula distributes 4% of the average market value of the last three years, resulting in a distribution of about $17.9 million for the year. Over the last ten years, the cumulative distributions have totaled almost $175 million and have provided an important source of financial support to a wide variety of people and activities across the campuses.