Bowdoin College Endowment Earns 15.3 Percent Return

This year, distributions from the endowment provided 51 percent of Bowdoin's $243 million operating budget, while tuition and fees accounted for 37 percent. Just a decade ago, those percentages were nearly reversed, with tuition and fees providing more than half of the operating budget at the time. Some 46 percent of distributions from the endowment goes to financial aid.

"The strength of our endowment enables us to invest in our mission," said Bowdoin president Safa Zaki. "Among other things, it sustains our commitment to access, which includes meeting the full demonstrated need of every admitted student."

Bowdoin's fiscal year investment return exceeded the median of 11 percent for all college and university endowments during the same period, based on preliminary reports by Cambridge Associates, which monitors endowment and foundation performance nationwide.

As of June 30, 2025, Bowdoin's endowment generated three-, five-, ten-, and twenty-year annualized returns of 8.8 percent, 13.5 percent, 11.0 percent, and 10.7 percent, respectively. Long-term returns place Bowdoin in the top 1 percent of all college and university endowments tracked by Cambridge Associates.

"These investment returns are the result of outstanding work by our investment team, led by Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer Niles Bryant, and our dedicated Investment Committee," Zaki said.

Bowdoin's endowment includes 1,944 individual funds dedicated to supporting a wide range of college initiatives. Nearly half of these funds are restricted by donors specifically for student financial aid. The diversified portfolio includes domestic and international equities, fixed income, private equity, venture capital, real estate, and absolute return strategies. All assets are invested through carefully selected external managers and structured for long-term growth and capital protection.

The College's endowment was established in 1794, when James Bowdoin III made the founding gift of $1,000. Over more than 230 years, thousands of alumni, parents, friends, and foundations have contributed to the endowment, with the principal remaining untouched. Investment earnings are partially distributed each year to support donors' intentions, while the rest is reinvested to strengthen the endowment for future generations.