Bouncing back from last year's disappointing return, Penn's endowment posted an impressive 6
percent gain in Fiscal Year 2001.
The figures, released at yesterday's University Board of Trustees meetings, show that Penn's
endowment grew to $3.3 billion during the last fiscal year, up from $3.2 billion the year
before.
The growth comes one year after Penn was one of few schools to experience decline during the
economic boom of Fiscal Year 2000. This year, however, Penn was part of a small group of major
colleges that showed positive returns despite the recent economic slump.
The University was criticized last year for relying on "value stocks" instead of technology
stocks and venture capital investments, which proved to be extraordinarily lucrative for schools
such as Harvard and Duke.
But Chief Investment Officer Landis Zimmerman said patience paid off in the long run for Penn.
"I think it highlights the importance of having a long-term plan," Zimmerman said. "The worst
thing we could have done last year was to compound our error and buy the stocks at their peak.
There's no question that not having the technology stocks in 2001 was definitely a blessing."
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