Dive Brief:
- As the chief executive of Harvard University’s $32.7 billion endowment—Harvard Management Company — prepares to leave at the end of the year, the debate over her investment performance continues.
- Jane Mendillo’s supporters say she righted the ship after the July 2008 market crash, when she was hired, and that the endowment’s average annual return for the five-year period ending June 30 was right on track with its long-term goal of 11% to 12%, the New York Times reports.
- Detractors point to Harvard’s steep loss — minus 27.3% for the market crash year — and the 1.7% annual return for her initial five-year period, which trailed all other Ivy League schools. Their average annual return for that period was 4.2%.
Dive Insight:
Harvard Management’s chief executive position is one of the most renowned, and criticized, in the investment world. The Times reports that the attention didn’t sit well with Mendillo, who is described as a very private person. Besides being criticized for investment performance, she was also blamed for overpaying her staff, which supporters say was necessary to try to keep talent that was constantly wooed away to higher-paying jobs. Other Ivy League schools prefer to let outside managers handle their endowment investments, so their in-house staff payroll is much smaller.