The University of Pennsylvania's endowment returned 27.4% in fiscal 2026 (year to June 30, 2026) and grew to $31.1 billion from $24.8 billion, a $6.3 billion jump that was the largest in its recent history. It was Penn's second-best return after 41.1% in fiscal 2021, and topped Harvard's 27.1%.
Answer
The University of Pennsylvania's endowment returned 27.4% in fiscal 2026 (the year to June 30, 2026) and grew to $31.1 billion from $24.8 billion, a $6.3 billion increase that The Daily Pennsylvanian called the largest year-over-year gain in recent history. It was Penn's second-best year after a 41.1% return in fiscal 2021 and put Penn ahead of Harvard (27.1%) and Princeton (23.7%) on return.
| Penn endowment — fact box | Fiscal 2026 (year to June 30, 2026) |
|---|---|
| Endowment value | $31.1 billion |
| Prior year | $24.8 billion (FY2025) |
| Increase | $6.3 billion |
| Return | 27.4% |
| Recent returns | FY2025 12.2% · FY2024 7.1% · FY2023 1.3% · FY2022 0.98% · FY2021 41.1% |
| Payout target | 5% of each endowment fund a year |
| Main vehicle | Associated Investments Fund (pooled) |
| Managed by | Penn Office of Investments, CIO Peter Ammon |
Sources: The Daily Pennsylvanian, Ryan Rucker (Sept. 24, 2026); Chief Investment Officer (ai-cio.com), Matt Toledo (Sept. 25, 2026).
How big is Penn's endowment in 2026?
Penn's endowment reached $31.1 billion in fiscal 2026, up from $24.8 billion a year earlier, according to The Daily Pennsylvanian, which reported the figures from a meeting of the trustees' Budget and Finance Committee on September 24, 2026. Executive Vice President Mark Dingfield attributed the rise in total net assets mainly to "exceptional investment performance."
Most of the endowment is invested through the Associated Investments Fund, a pooled vehicle in which individual endowment funds share one portfolio. The Penn Office of Investments, with nearly 40 professionals, manages it.
On size, Penn sits in the second tier of American university endowments: well behind Harvard (nearly $68 billion) and Stanford's merged pool ($61.5 billion), behind Princeton ($42.3 billion), but among the largest in the country. See our full largest university endowments 2026 table.
What return did Penn earn in fiscal 2026?
Penn returned 27.4%, more than double its 12.2% in fiscal 2025. Chief Investment Officer magazine reported that it was the endowment's second-best year on record after fiscal 2021's 41.1%.
AI-CIO said several university endowments posted returns "well into the double digits" in fiscal 2026, and attributed the gains mainly to the artificial intelligence theme, through venture capital managers, and to the SpaceX IPO. Penn did not disclose its fiscal 2026 asset allocation or return drivers.
| University | FY2026 return | Value at June 30, 2026 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford (merged pool) | 31.7% | $61.5 billion | Forbes, Oct. 16, 2026 |
| Penn | 27.4% | $31.1 billion | Daily Pennsylvanian, Sept. 24, 2026 |
| Harvard | 27.1% | nearly $68 billion | Forbes, Oct. 16, 2026 |
| Princeton | 23.7% | $42.3 billion | PAW, Oct. 16, 2026 |
| Brown | 19.6% | $9.5 billion | Forbes, Oct. 16, 2026 |
How has Penn performed over the past five years?
Penn's recent record, as reported by AI-CIO:
- FY2021: 41.1% — the best year on record;
- FY2022: 0.98% and FY2023: 1.3% — two near-flat years;
- FY2024: 7.1% and FY2025: 12.2% — a gradual pick-up;
- FY2026: 27.4% — the second-best year on record.
The pattern is typical of endowments with heavy private-market and venture exposure: long flat stretches punctuated by very strong years when exits and public listings revalue private holdings. Read how the endowment model creates this profile.
How does Penn spend its endowment?
Penn targets an annual payout of 5% of each endowment fund, according to The Daily Pennsylvanian. Dingfield told trustees that endowment income "will be restricted to specific uses that the donors intended," and that a "considerable" share will help fund financial aid.
The same meeting reported a fiscal 2026 operating surplus of $636 million, above forecast: $185 million from academic operations and $451 million from the University of Pennsylvania Health System.
What does Penn's year tell other asset owners?
- Ranking by return and ranking by size are different lists. Penn out-returned Harvard and Princeton in fiscal 2026 but remains less than half Harvard's size.
- Flat years are part of the deal. Two near-zero years in 2022 and 2023 preceded a 27.4% year. Investors judging a long-horizon portfolio on one or two years risk drawing the wrong conclusion.
- A few holdings drove the spread. AI-related venture gains and SpaceX moved many endowment results in 2026; asset owners should check how concentrated their own private exposures have become. Compare with MIT, Harvard and Princeton.
Who manages Penn's endowment?
The endowment is run by the Penn Office of Investments, led by chief investment officer Peter Ammon, according to Chief Investment Officer magazine. The Daily Pennsylvanian reports that the office employs nearly 40 investment professionals. Most assets are pooled in the Associated Investments Fund, so the 27.4% return applies broadly across Penn's individual endowment funds rather than to a single account.
Results were presented to the trustees' Budget and Finance Committee by Executive Vice President Mark Dingfield, who also reported the university's operating results for the year.
Where did the biggest 2026 gains come from?
Penn did not publish what drove its own return. Across the sector, Forbes reported that several institutions attributed gains to investments in AI companies, SpaceX and a strong stock market. The two highest results Forbes listed, 37.8% at the University of North Carolina System Investment Fund and 37.3% at Washington University in St. Louis, were driven mostly by SpaceX; at Washington University, Forbes says the SpaceX position produced a 3,000% return. Harvard cited venture capital, public equities and hedge funds, with private equity now 46% of its portfolio.
For Penn, the practical question is how much of fiscal 2026 came from a few private holdings that may not repeat. That is worth watching when Penn publishes its annual financial report.
Sources
- The Daily Pennsylvanian, Ryan Rucker, "Penn endowment sees over $6 billion jump in largest single-year return on record," September 24, 2026.
- Chief Investment Officer (ai-cio.com), Matt Toledo, "Penn Endowment Surges 27.4% In Fiscal 2026," September 25, 2026.
- Forbes, Michael T. Nietzel, "Leading Universities Post Strong Endowment Gains; Harvard's Return Tops 27%," October 16, 2026.
- Princeton Alumni Weekly, Julie Bonette, "Princeton's Endowment Returns 23.7%, Grows to $42.3 Billion," October 16, 2026.
Last updated October 27, 2026.