Largest Endowments Funds ranked by Total Assets in 2026

For many years, endowment funds have played a crucial role in society. Managed by non-profit organisations such as universities, charities, religious institutions, and art foundations, these funds actively contribute to societal development.

Endowment funds are designed to ensure the sustainability of non-profit organisations, acting as strategically invested funds generating revenue for their activities. Supported by gifts and donations, endowment funds are prevalent in most U.S. universities, museums, and hospitals.

Therefore, the Total Assets of these funds represent a crucial metric in assessing their health. The scale, coupled with effective management by the organisation, plays a pivotal role in generating income to finance these organisations.

Here’s the list of the largest endowment funds in the world by Total Assets (AUM):

The Japan University Fund, run by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), is the largest endowment fund in the world, ahead of Ensign Peak Advisors, the investment manager for the assets of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose disclosed equity portfolio stood at $53.7 billion. Harvard leads the university group at $56.9 billion.

It is worth noting that we have nine universities on the list of 15 elements presented above. This underscores the significance of endowment funds in the United States. Some of these funds have Assets under Management (AUM) values exceeding certain countries’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP), including Iceland and Estonia.

Two caveats on comparability. Ensign Peak’s figure comes from its quarterly 13F filing, which discloses US-listed equities only, so the total assets it manages are larger than the number shown. And several universities report both an endowment and a wider investment pool, so the figure you see elsewhere may be higher than the endowment itself. Notre Dame is the clearest case: its endowment is around $20.1 billion, while its total investment portfolio is closer to $25.8 billion.

The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) established the Japan University Fund in March 2022 to acquire financial resources for the sustained and stable support of universities acknowledged for their international research excellence and doctoral students nationwide. It was seeded with ¥10 trillion, of which ¥8.89 trillion was borrowed from the Fiscal Loan Fund and ¥1.11 trillion came from the government budget.

The fund reported a record net profit of ¥315.8 billion for fiscal 2025, up 23% on the previous year, helped by a global equity rally and by currency gains on a weaker yen. Total investment assets reached ¥11.79 trillion as at 30 September 2025, after a 6.3% return over that half-year.

The design is unusual for an endowment. The fund aims to distribute up to ¥300 billion a year to designated Universities for International Research Excellence for a maximum of 25 years, and it must build a ¥600 billion reserve before distributions run at full rate. From 2031 it moves to a basic portfolio of roughly 65% equities and 35% bonds, having been run more conservatively until then to keep potential losses contained.

Ensign Peak Advisors serves as the investment manager for the assets of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Its latest 13F filing, for positions held on 31 March 2026, disclosed 1,708 holdings worth $53.7 billion, led by Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet.

Remember that a 13F covers US-listed equity positions only, so it is a floor rather than a full picture of what the manager runs. Ensign Peak drew attention in 2023 when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged it and the Church over the use of shell companies to obscure the size of the portfolio in those filings, a case settled with a $5 million penalty.

Harvard’s endowment is a steadfast and enduring funding reservoir that sustains the educational and research objectives of the University. It is overseen by Harvard Management Company, established in 1974, which manages and invests the funds as a distinct entity.

The endowment returned 11.9% in fiscal 2025 and ended the year at $56.9 billion, the largest university endowment in the world. Distributions now fund close to 40% of Harvard’s operating budget, and the portfolio remains heavily weighted to private equity.

Stanford Management Company (SMC) oversees the management of Stanford University’s Endowment and other financial assets, strategically investing to ensure sustained, long-term support for the university. The Endowment Fund is crucial in advancing Stanford’s academic mission, facilitating groundbreaking research, sustaining a distinguished faculty, and contributing to student financial aid.

Stanford’s fiscal year ends in August rather than June. For fiscal 2025 the Merged Pool returned 14.3%, one of the strongest results among large US endowments, and the endowment stood at $40.8 billion at 31 August 2025.

The Yale Investments Office manages the University’s Endowment, which amounted to $44.1 billion as of June 30, 2025, after an 11.1% return for the fiscal year. The Endowment distributed $2.1 billion to support the University’s operations over the same period.

The influence of the Endowment fund is evident at Yale. In 2005, 43% of graduates left with student loan debt, whereas in 2021 only 15% did so, a reduction significantly supported by the Endowment.

The Princeton University Investment Company oversees Princeton University’s endowment fund, aiming to provide steady support for the University’s current and future operational needs while preserving tangible value for future generations. The fund returned around 11% in fiscal 2025 and closed the year at $36.4 billion, the third largest in the Ivy League.

Such outcomes are attainable only through an equity-focused strategy, as reflected in the weight of private equity within the portfolio.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Investment Management Company (MITIMCo) oversees MIT’s endowment fund, which held $27.4 billion as of June 2025 after a 14.8% return, the strongest among the large US university endowments that fiscal year. A little over a third of the portfolio sits in private equity.

The management team operates on the assumption that inflation will average around 3% over the long term and that MIT’s spending rate will average around 5%. This implies that the fund needs to generate an annual return of approximately 8% to meet its goal, a target it has exceeded in recent years.

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) possesses an endowment fund supervised and managed by the KAUST Investment Management Company. The fund’s primary goal is to advance science and technology through unique and collaborative research integrated with graduate education. KAUST aspires to act as a catalyst for innovation, economic development, and social prosperity in Saudi Arabia and globally.

KAUST does not publish an annual endowment figure the way US universities do, so the value shown here is a third-party estimate rather than a reported number.

The University of Michigan’s endowment climbed $2 billion during fiscal 2025 to a market value of $21.2 billion as of June 30, 2025, on a 15.5% return, the highest among the largest US university endowments that year. Distributions reached $538 million.

The University Endowment Fund pools more than 13,400 separate endowment and quasi-endowment funds, and distributions are capped at an annual rate of 5.3% of current market value. It is the tenth largest endowment in US higher education and the third largest among public universities.

The Notre Dame Investment Office oversees the management of the Notre Dame Endowment and other financial assets of the University. The Endowment Pool returned 13.6% in fiscal 2025, and its 5, 10, 15 and 20-year returns all rank in the top decile of the 20 largest university endowments.

Endowment payout reached $655 million in 2025, a planned 6% increase on the prior year, and endowment distributions fund about a third of the University’s operating revenues.

The Church Pension Fund is a private, tax-exempt organisation that has been in continuous operation since 1917. The Investment Team is dedicated to ensuring the generation of sufficient long-term returns to uphold the commitments made to beneficiaries for years to come. Over the ten years to March 2024, the investment portfolio generated an annualised return of 7.6%, ahead of both its 7.3% investment goal and the 6.3% market benchmark.

The Columbia Investment Management Company (IMC) is a subsidiary of Columbia University, responsible for overseeing the University’s endowments and serving as a pivotal financial pillar. Established in 2002, the IMC effectively allocates resources for professorships, financial aid, research, and various institutional requirements.

As of June 30, 2025, the endowment stood at $15.9 billion, after a 12.4% return on managed assets for the year. It comprises 6,700 individual funds, most of them dedicated to a specific purpose, and distributed $664.1 million in FY25 for a 4.9% spending rate.

Northwestern University’s Endowment aims to generate a steady and expanding income stream to bolster the academic and research objectives of the University for present and forthcoming generations. It is managed by the Investment Office, which allocates funds across a diverse range of assets to balance portfolio stability and growth.

The endowment ended fiscal 2025 at $15.2 billion, up from $14.2 billion a year earlier, a 6.7% increase. That was below the 8.2% average growth of the 25 largest US endowments, and it left Northwestern as the 13th largest endowment among the institutions in the annual NACUBO survey.

Kamehameha Schools oversees an endowment fund situated in Honolulu, Hawaii, established in 1887. The endowment supports educational initiatives, enhancing the capacity and welfare of individuals of Hawaiian descent. It is one of the few large endowments on this list built on a land legacy rather than on cash gifts, since a substantial part of its asset base is Hawaiian real estate.

The University of Virginia Investment Management Company (UVIMCO) offers investment management services to the University of Virginia, aiming to generate investment returns that contribute to the university’s mission. Note that UVIMCO manages a wider Long Term Pool, of which the University’s endowment is one part, so the figures quoted for UVIMCO and for the UVA endowment are not always the same number.

In 2022, UVIMCO released its inaugural Investor Responsibility Report, grounded in the belief that the purposeful integration of ESG considerations improves investment processes and boosts long-term, risk-adjusted investment returns.

How endowments performed in fiscal 2025

The individual figures above sit inside a strong year for the sector. The 2025 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments, covering 657 US colleges, universities and affiliated foundations, reported an average net return of 10.9% for fiscal 2025, slightly below the 11.2% of the previous year. The 10-year average annual return improved to 7.7%, up from 6.8%.

Those 657 institutions held $944.3 billion between them, and spent $33.4 billion from their endowments during the year. The median endowment was $253.6 million, which puts the scale of the funds in this article in perspective: more than a quarter of the institutions surveyed had endowments of $100 million or less.

Returns were widely dispersed at the top. Michigan returned 15.5%, MIT 14.8% and Stanford’s Merged Pool 14.3%, while Yale and Princeton each posted around 11%. New gifts, on the other hand, fell: participating schools reported just under $14 billion, a 9.2% decline on the prior year.

There is one more change worth flagging for anyone tracking these funds. A US federal law enacted in July 2025 replaced the flat 1.4% excise tax on endowment investment income with a tiered structure rising to 8% for the wealthiest institutions per student, applying to tax years beginning after 31 December 2025. Notre Dame, for example, disclosed that its 2025 investment return would have carried $37.6 million in tax at the old rate against $107 million at the new one. Expect that to show up in future spending and allocation decisions.

Types of endowment funds

There are essentially four types of endowment funds. While, in a nutshell, they all have more or less the same objectives, these can be achieved through different pathways. To understand the true essence of each fund, we’ve compiled an explanation and an example of each type of endowment fund.

Unrestricted endowment fund

Unrestricted endowment funds are those for which the donor hasn’t specified any particular purpose for the funds. An example could be an alumnus who provided a substantial amount of money to his past university without specifying any restrictions. The university can use the returns on this endowment fund to support a variety of needs, such as faculty development, campus infrastructure improvements, or general operating expenses.

Restricted endowment fund

The restricted endowment funds have specific conditions or restrictions set by the donor. A philanthropist donates money to a hospital with the condition that the funds are exclusively used for cancer research. The hospital establishes a restricted endowment fund, and the returns from this fund are dedicated to supporting ongoing cancer research initiatives.

This is the most common shape at scale. Columbia’s endowment, for instance, is made up of 6,700 individual funds, most of them tied to a specific purpose such as financial aid, a named professorship or research in one department.

Quasi-endowment fund

Quasi-endowment funds are a bit like endowed funds, but they don’t have the permanent rule that true endowments do. Institutions often set up quasi-endowment funds to work like endowments, giving them a steady source of income. The difference is they can still change or use the money for something else in the future if they need to.

Imagine a cultural place getting a big donation to take care of a special exhibit. Instead of saying the money can only be used for that exhibit forever, they create a quasi-endowment fund. Even though the money is meant for the exhibit, the place can still use it for something else if the exhibit isn’t important later on.

These funds are not a rounding error at large institutions. The University of Michigan’s endowment pools more than 13,400 separate endowment and quasi-endowment funds, and its rules allow quarterly withdrawals of quasi-endowment money under a defined notice procedure.

Term endowment fund

Term endowment funds exist for a set period, unlike regular endowments that aim to last forever. They are created for a specific purpose and only for a certain time. For example, a university gets a donation to build a new library, but the donor says the money can only be used for this purpose for 20 years after the library is finished. This sets up a term endowment fund, ensuring the funds are used for the library during that time. After 20 years, the university can use the money for something else if they want.

Japan’s University Fund works on a similar logic at national scale: it distributes to designated universities for a maximum of 25 years, and from year 20 it starts repaying the government loan that seeded it.

Bottom line

The Total Assets (AUM) is a crucial indicator for endowment funds, as it directly influences revenue generation for their intended purposes. These funds typically aim to generate income for a specified purpose or range of purposes. Therefore, the larger the fund, the greater its nominal revenue.

In this article, we ranked the world’s largest endowment funds based on their total assets. Most of the featured funds are associated with North American universities, where these types of funds hold particular significance, though the largest of all is now Japan’s state-seeded University Fund.

One thing to keep in mind when comparing these numbers: fiscal years end at different dates, some funds report an endowment and others a wider investment pool, and one of them discloses only its US-listed equities. The dates in the table matter as much as the values.

We also clarified the four types of existing endowment funds, providing explanations and illustrative examples to differentiate between each.