The Bowdoin College endowment generated an investment return of 0.6 percent for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023. The College’s endowment was valued at $2.4 billion at the close of the fiscal year, including the addition of approximately $39 million in gifts and other transfers.
Nearly half of the endowment is permanently restricted by donors to the support of student financial aid. Of the total endowment distribution in 2022–2023, approximately $42 million supported financial aid, accounting for approximately 77 percent of Bowdoin’s $54 million financial aid budget. Other distributions restricted by donors are used to support professorships and instruction, lectureships, museums, the library and book purchases, and technology.
“It has been a difficult period for investors—including for Bowdoin—with the multiple headwinds of surging inflation, higher interest rates, a land war in Europe, and a technology market unwind,” said Bowdoin president Safa Zaki. “Against this challenging backdrop, our investment team, led by Niles Bryant, and our Investment Committee, have done an excellent job of protecting the value of the Bowdoin endowment and preserving much of the extraordinary gains recorded in fiscal 2021.
Fifty-one percent of Bowdoin’s first-year class receives need-based financial aid, a percentage that continues to grow. The average grant for all aided students—funds that do not have to be paid back—is approximately $61,000 a year.
During the fiscal year, the endowment provided $92 million to the annual operations of the College, and because the actual cost of educating a student at Bowdoin is approximately $114,000, the endowment subsidizes every student, not just those receiving aid.
As of June 30, 2023, the three-, five-, and ten-year annualized returns, net of fees, for Bowdoin’s endowment were 13.7 percent, 11.5 percent, and 11.7 percent, respectively—all in the top decile among comparative college and university annualized returns, according to data compiled by Cambridge Associates.
Bowdoin’s endowment consists of more than 1,740 individual funds earmarked for the perpetual support of a variety of college initiatives. The endowment portfolio is diversified across different asset classes, including domestic and international equities, fixed income, private equity, venture capital, real estate, and absolute return strategies.
All asset classes are invested through a selection of external investment managers or through market indices. The portfolio is structured with a long-term time horizon, with portfolio diversification and manager selection directed toward protecting endowment capital in challenging investment environments, while growing those assets during periods of economic stability and growth.
