Investment Office

Assets and Performance

A field hockey athlete makes a play.
Photo credit: Joe Colon

Endowment Market Value

Total endowed funds as of June 30, 2022, were $1,183.2 million, as compared to $1,272.4 million the previous year—a decrease of $89.2 million. The change in total value from year to year results from changes in the market value of investments, gifts received from donors, and the endowment spending payout. The payout from the endowment supports Oberlin’s operating budget and provides long-term funding for student financial aid, faculty compensation, and academic programs.

Endowment Market Value (20 Year Trend)

Line chart showing annual growth from less than 600 million in 2003 to 1,183 million in 2022.
2003 to 2022, values in millions

Investment Performance

In fiscal year 2022, Oberlin’s net total investment return for the endowment was -4.9 percent as compared to a total net return in fiscal year 2021 of 42.8 percent, resulting in continued top quartile rankings across the institution’s peer group in the three, five, and ten-year measurement periods.

Endowment and Benchmark Returns

Data provided in the following table.
June 30, 2022
Accessible data table
Endowment and Benchmark Returns (June 30, 2022)
  1 year 3 year 5 year 10 year
Oberlin endowment -4.9% 12.5% 11.6% 9.9%
Strategic benchmark -5.4% 10.2% 9.0% 8.1%
70% ACWI/30% BC Agg -14.0% 4.3% 5.4% 6.7%

Peer Comparison

Average Annual Compound Returns (All Endowments)

Description follows.
Cambridge Associates, June 30, 2022
Accessible description

The Y axis shows return percent, and the X axis shows 4 categories: 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and 10 years. For each category, a shaded column indicates the range of returns for all institutions, divided into quartiles. Oberlin’s return is plotted as a point in the column. At a glance, you can see that Oberlin’s return is in the first or second quartile in all periods.

The height of each column shrinks as the time period gets longer, indicating reduced variance for longer time periods.

  • In the 1-year category, returns range from a low of about -18% to a high of about 5%, with the median at about -6%. Oberlin's return of -4.9% is in the second quartile.
  • In the 3-year category, returns range from 2% to about 17%, with the median at about 9%. Oberlin's return of 12.5 is in the top quartile.
  • In the 5-year category, returns range from 3% to about 16%, with the median at about 8%. Oberlin's return of 11.6 is in the top quartile.
  • In the 10-year category, returns range from about 5% to about 13%, with the median at about 8%. Oberlin's return of 9.9 is in the top quartile.

Asset Allocation

Oberlin’s endowment has a highly diversified portfolio with allocations to fixed income/cash, public equity, and alternative strategies that include absolute return, private equity venture capital, and real assets. The following is the college’s long-term strategic target and actual endowment portfolio allocation for the year ending June 30, 2022.

FY 2022 Asset Allocation
Asset Allocation Strategic Target % Actual %
Cash and cash equivalents 5 4
Developed markets equity 29 25
Emerging markets equity 9 6
Absolute Return 20 18
Private equity 15 15
Venture capital 17 28
Real assets 5 5
Total 100% 100%

All data provided on this page is updated with audited financial statements and publicly released surveys on an annual basis as of June 30.