News Story

The University of Michigan’s endowment grew to $25 billion in fiscal year 2026, up from $21.2 billion a year earlier, as the university’s long-term investment portfolio returned 20.7%.

The return adds to a record of performance that ranks among the top five of all endowments over the past 10 years and the top 10 over the past 20 years, according to Cambridge Associates.

“Our long-term investment performance continues to outpace inflation and spending combined,” said Chief Investment Officer Erik Lundberg. “This preserves the endowment’s purchasing power for future generations of students, patients, and researchers.”

That growth also supports the university’s work today. Distributions from endowment funds totaled $569 million in fiscal year 2026, up from $538 million in fiscal year 2025. Since the start of fiscal year 2000, the endowment has distributed $7.9 billion to support the university.

“The endowment’s strong, sustained performance translates directly into support for the University of Michigan’s public mission,” said Bobby Hewlett, executive vice president and chief financial officer. “Each year, it provides hundreds of millions of dollars for student scholarships, patient care, teaching and research. Our long-term investment strategy allows us to provide that critical support today while preserving and growing these resources to benefit future generations.”

Distributions from the endowment are an important funding source for actions critical to the mission of the university. For fiscal year 2026, 30% of the distributions supported scholarships, 22% went to patient care, 23% to teaching, and 15% to support research.

U-M’s endowment is ranked ninth in the nation by size, and 85th on a per-student basis. The National Association of College and University Business Officers rankings include private peer institutions with endowments of similar or larger size; U-M’s endowment supports a large student body and campus community. A detailed investment report will be available later this year.