With 19.6% investment return, Brown endowment continues record support for academic priorities

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] - The Brown University endowment generated a 19.6% investment return - its highest in five years - during Brown's Fiscal Year 2026, the 12-month period that closed on June 30, 2026.

The endowment's total market value increased from $8 billion to $9.5 billion. That change reflects $1.6 billion in investment gains, $135 million in new endowed gifts, the receipt of $200 million from the Brown University Health independent health system (managed by Brown's Investment Office as part of a set of expanded affiliation agreements) and a $357 million contribution to Brown's operating budget.

The $357 million contribution to the operating budget supported student scholarships, professorships, academic programs, teaching and research, among other strategic priorities. The contribution marked an all-time high; it represents nearly $32,000 per student and 24% of Brown's total revenue for FY26.

Brown's endowment is a collection of charitable gifts designated through gift agreements with donors to be spent for specific purposes and invested by the University. The funds are invested in a diversified portfolio of assets with the intention that each original gift will grow in size and provide an ongoing income stream to support the specific endowed purpose.

Among about 4,000 individual endowed funds and managed assets that comprise the Brown endowment are funds that support financial aid to allow students to graduate debt-free; professorships to recruit leading researchers and educators; biomedical laboratories to help develop treatments for diseases ranging from Alzheimer's to ALS to cancer; public health scholarship to address health crises; community engagement initiatives; academic programs to prepare the next generation to address societal challenges; and teaching and research across a wide range of fields.

Each year, the endowment contributes funding to Brown's operating budget, with the annual payout rate ranging from 4.5% to 5.5% of the average market value. Endowed funds for financial aid are particularly crucial, with the largest share of the endowment's annual budget contributions (35%) designated for scholarships, fellowships and academic prizes. Among current Brown undergraduates, 48% of students receive need-based financial aid with an average aid package of $72,206, which covers approximately 72% of the standard cost of attendance.

Assessing performance over the long term

Data compiled by Cambridge Associates indicates that Brown's 19.6% return for FY26 falls in the first quartile of endowment and foundation peers managing more than $1 billion in investments, a group that includes more than 130 institutions. Longer-term results suggest that Brown's investment outcomes have been exceptional - the University's annualized return of 13.6% over 10 years places the endowment firmly within the top 5% of all reported returns.

Brown Vice President and Chief Investment Officer Jane Dietze said the Investment Office 's charge is to protect and prudently grow the endowment over time, to ensure its role as an enduring financial resource that provides long-term support and advances Brown's mission. Brown's investment strategy is therefore designed to achieve strong risk-adjusted returns over decades rather than over the course of any single year.

"The stewardship of Brown's endowment is rooted in a set of unchanging tenets: a team of dedicated professional investors committed to Brown's mission, long-term partnerships with investment managers of exceptional ability and high character, and governance that provides both oversight and guidance," Dietze said. "A commitment to those principles has enabled the Brown endowment to support financial aid, groundbreaking research and other University priorities at a historic rate."

Dietze, who joined the Investment Office in 2013 and will depart Brown at the end of 2026 to become the first chief investment officer for the Fund for Science and Technology, will leave following a period of rapid growth in Brown's endowment. Over the last decade, the endowment and other managed assets have produced $7.2 billion in investment returns and provided $2.5 billion to support Brown's educational and research mission. Contributions from the endowment continue to play a vital role in supporting priorities across the University at a time when some historic funding sources for universities remain under threat.

Upon Dietze's departure, Joshua Kennedy, a Brown Class of 1997 graduate who joined the Investment Office in 2016 and has served as deputy chief investment officer since 2022, will become Brown's next chief investment officer. Peter Levine, a Brown Class of 1995 graduate who joined the Investment Office in 2018 and has served as managing director since 2019, will become Brown's deputy chief investment officer.

Annualized returns for Brown's endowment for three, five, 10 and 20 years are 14.2%, 7.8%, 13.6% and 9.7%, respectively. As a result of the endowment's growth, the University will enter the 4% tax bracket in Fiscal Year 2027 under the federal excise tax on university investment gains expanded by Congress in July 2025.