Harvard University endowment

Harvard Management Company, Inc.

Company type	Private
Industry	Investment management
Founded	1974 (1974)
Headquarters	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. , U.S.
Key people	N.P. "Narv" Narvekar (CEO) Sanjeev Daga (COO)
AUM	Template:US$ (FY 2024)
Owner	Harvard University
Website	www.harvard.edu www.hmc.harvard.edu

The Harvard University endowment, valued at $53.2 billion as of June 30, 2024, stands as the world’s largest academic endowment. Its worth hit an all-time peak during fiscal year 2024. The portfolio, managed by Harvard Management Company, Inc. (HMC), a private investment firm owned by Harvard, encompasses pension funds, operational capital, and non-cash contributions.

Harvard Management Company

HMC administers nearly 14,000 individual funds within the endowment, employing investment experts to maximize financial performance. Functioning as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity exempt from federal income taxation, HMC is headed by CEO N.P. "Narv" Narvekar, Chief Investment Officer Rick Slocum, and COO Sanjeev Daga.

Management history

From 1990 until September 30, 2005, Jack Meyer directed HMC, expanding the endowment from $4.8 billion to $25.9 billion (including new donations), achieving an annualized return of 15.9% over his final decade. After disagreements over compensation, Meyer and several colleagues left to establish independent investment firms. By 2011, these firms—among them Meyer's Convexity Capital Management—managed assets totaling $43 billion.

Mohamed El-Erian followed Meyer as president and CEO, joining from PIMCO with a mission to "rebuild and reinvent" HMC. He accomplished a one-year return of 23% before departing in 2007 to return to PIMCO.

Jane Mendillo assumed the CEO role on July 1, 2008. A Yale alumna with an MBA from Yale School of Management, Mendillo brought prior experience from HMC and Wellesley College. Her leadership coincided with the Great Recession, which resulted in an $8 billion (22%) drop in endowment value and a workforce reduction of 25%. During this period, some holdings were liquidated, including hedge funds managed by Convexity Capital and Baupost Group.

Stephen Blyth took over as CEO starting January 1, 2015. Having joined HMC in 2006, he previously led the Internal Management and Public Markets units. Blyth holds academic credentials from Cambridge and Harvard and has served as a statistics professor at Harvard.

Marc Seidner was appointed vice president for domestic fixed income in 2006 to lead improvements in HMC’s bond portfolio but left in 2009 to become executive vice president and portfolio manager at PIMCO.

On September 30, 2016, N.P. "Narv" Narvekar was named CEO. Early in 2017, he announced plans to reduce staff by approximately half of the then-230 employees through outsourcing certain functions and terminating all internal hedge funds by the end of that fiscal year. Narvekar’s compensation totaled $9.3 million in 2019 and $8.6 million in 2018, reflecting his pivotal role during this organizational transformation.

Controversies

In 2002, the Harvard Management Company became associated with the Harken Energy controversy, centered on a $30 million stake in the struggling oil firm. Michael R. Eisenson, who would later establish the private equity firm Charlesbank Capital Partners, served as Harvard's representative on Harken's board. Although certain staff members were accused of making questionable investments, Harvard ultimately concluded that their conduct was appropriate.

From 2004 through 2015, Harvard purchased 33,600 hectares of forest land in Romania, which was subsequently sold to a subsidiary of IKEA. This transaction occurred amid legal disputes concerning allegations of corrupt land acquisitions during Romania’s post-Communist restitution era.

Divesting from fossil fuels

In September 2021, Harvard declared it would discontinue investments in fossil fuel industries following persistent advocacy by students and outside organizations. The university cited its fiduciary duty alongside the imperative to advance economic decarbonization as reasons for this move. This announcement came after years marked by activism including legal actions, demonstrations, and notable interruptions aimed at steering Harvard’s investment policies toward sustainability.

See also

• List of colleges and universities in the United States by endowment
• List of wealthiest charitable foundations

Articles

• "Harvard and Yale Report Losses in Endowments", The New York Times, September 11, 2009.
• Epstein, Edward Jay, "How Much Has Harvard Really Lost?", Huffington Post, December 21, 2008.
• "Harvard's Fund Returns 23%, Boosting Size to $34.9 Billion", The Wall Street Journal.

The Harvard Crimson

• Mossavar-Rahmani, Cyrus M., "Endowment Chief Speaks to Students", May 4, 2006. Re: Mohamed A. El-Erian.
• Ciarelli, Nicholas M., "HMC Salaries Fall From Highs", January 3, 2006.
• Ciarelli, Nicholas M., and Alexander H. Greeley, "Top Bond Manager to Lead Endowment", October 14, 2005. Re: Mohamed A. El-Erian.
• Zhu, Peter F., "HMC Analyst Questions Dismissal", March 31, 2009. Re: analyst Iris Mack's 2002 dismissal and settlement.

Further reading

The Harvard Crimson

• Greeley, Alexander H., "Ex-HMC Chief Opens $6B Fund", February 7, 2006. Re: Jack R. Meyer
• Mossavar-Rahmani, Cyrus M., "Yale's Chief Investor Says HMC Overpays", February 9, 2006. Re: David Swensen.