I will ignore your daily brag-point to say that I did some look into the NACUBO Endowment returns and 10% is indeed a reasonable assumption.
I looked up the performance of the Harvard Management Company and the $32.7 billion Harvard Endowment has enjoyed an average annual return of 16% over the past 30 years. HMC performance for the past year was 11.3% and 11% for the past 3 years. Distributions from The Endowment provides more than a third of the University's operating budget, including creative financial aid solutions and leading edge research and educational initiatives.
Michigan's $8.8 billion University Endowment has delivered an average annual return of 16% over the past 30 years. The one year increase was 24.8% and 14.2% for the past 3 years.
It is important to note that 50% of Michigan's University Endowment is in illiquid alternative assets while 38% of Harvard's portfolio is thusly invested. Both Endowments use these hedges to provide intergenerational equity. Think how much better the return if either could have been more fully invested in equities.
