UTIMCO reports strong performance for 2014
EL PASO – Endowments benefiting institutions in The University of Texas System and Texas A&M University System posted a 15.1 percent return for the fiscal year ending Aug. 31, keeping on trend with a decade of positive performance by The University of Texas Investment Management Company, the entity that manages endowments for the two largest public higher education systems in the state.
In a report to The University of Texas System Board of Regents today, UTIMCO CEO and Chief Investment Officer Bruce Zimmerman highlighted the 15.1 percent return for the Permanent University Fund, as well as a 14.7 percent return for the General Endowment Fund. The General Endowment Fund includes the Long Term Fund and the Permanent Health Fund.
“I am pleased to report such strong investment returns for the previous fiscal year, which generated approximately $4 billion in additional financial resources for the University of Texas and Texas A&M systems,” Zimmerman said. “Over the past decade, investment returns have surpassed $15.5 billion.”
Zimmerman said the strong investment returns can be attributed in part to UTIMCO staff delivering $219 million of additional value over a passive investment strategy due to its active stewardship of the investment funds. Since 2004, UTIMCO staff has been responsible for delivering approximately $4 billion of added value.
Regent Jeff Hildebrand, chairman of the board’s Finance and Planning Committee and member of the UTIMCO Board, said that the state’s Permanent University Fund and the wise investments made by UTIMCO continue to give Texas a competitive edge on the national landscape.
“The investment returns from these endowments are a significant factor in our ability to keep our state’s higher education university systems among the very best in the nation,” Hildebrand said.
The $17.4 billion Permanent University Fund was established in 1876 for the benefit of the University of Texas and Texas A&M systems. Over its lifetime, it has received $9.4 billion in contributions from oil and gas royalty revenue, has made $11.9 billion in distributions to be spent by the two university systems, and has benefited from $19.9 billion of investment returns.
About The University of Texas Investment Management Co.
UTIMCO is a 501(c)(3) investment management corporation whose sole purpose is the management of investment assets under the fiduciary care of the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System. Created in March 1996, UTIMCO is the first external investment corporation formed by a public university system in the nation. It invests endowment and operating funds in excess of $34 billion. UTIMCO is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors. The UTIMCO Board of Directors includes three members of The University of Texas System Board of Regents, two members selected by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, the Chancellor of The University of Texas System, and three outside investment professionals appointed by the UT System Board of Regents.
About The University of Texas System
Educating students, providing care for patients, conducting groundbreaking research and serving the needs of Texans and the nation for more than 130 years, The University of Texas System is one of the largest public university systems in the United States, with nine academic universities, six health institutions and an enrollment of more than 214,000. The UT System confers more than one-third of the state’s undergraduate degrees, educates two-thirds of the state’s health care professionals annually and accounts for almost 70 percent of all research funds awarded to public universities in Texas. The UT System has an annual operating budget of $15.6 billion (FY 2015) including $3 billion in sponsored programs funded by federal, state, local and private sources. With about 90,000 employees, the UT System is one of the largest employers in the state.
