The URI Endowment

The cornerstone of private giving

The endowment provides dependable and perpetual funding to support students, faculty, programs, and facilities across URI. More than 1,100 funds are invested with a long-term strategy to enhance the principal value of the endowment and earn returns that will support the areas of greatest importance to our alumni and friends.

The endowment spending rate that will be applied in the 2022–2023 academic year is 5.05 percent, which contains both the University distribution and the URIFAE administrative fee. The University payout increased from 3.5 to 3.6 percent of the market value of the endowment (calculated on a 12-quarter rolling average ending on December 31, 2021). The administrative fee decreased from 1.55 to 1.45 percent. The dollar value of the payout to the University to support gift purposes this year will increase from $5.4 million to $6.4 million.

As of June 30, 2022, the University’s endowment portfolio had a market value of $194 million. The URIFAE Board of Directors, in concert with its Investment Committee, including committee chair Deborah A. Imondi ’83 M.B.A.’86, is working diligently to enhance the management of the fund to maximize returns while maintaining appropriate risk and liquidity parameters. The facing page shows the market value and payout impact for each of the past five years.

22%

MARKETABLE ALTERNATIVES

28.6%

U.S. EQUITY

12.2%

GLOBAL EX U.S. EQUITY

10.9%

FIXED INCOME AND CASH

7%

EMERGING MARKETS EQUITY

6.3%

GLOBAL EQUITY

13%

PRIVATE INVESTMENTS

ANNUALIZED RETURN ON INVESTMENT: The annualized return

on URI’s general endowment portfolio as of June 30, 2022 was 2 percent. The returns for the past five years are shown below.

INCREASE/DECREASE AS OF JUNE 30, 2022

2018

2019

2.8%

2020

2021

-11.8% 2%

2022

11.1%

31.9%

ANNUAL ENDOWMENT PAYOUT: The following graph represents the total amount of endowment-generated funds distributed to URI each fiscal year, based on URIFAE’s spending policy, for use over five academic years.

$6.0 $5.0 $4.0 $3.0 $2.0 $1.0 $0 IN MILLIONS

3.8 4.2 4.6 5.7 5.4

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

The annual payout figure is based on a rolling 3-year average using 12/31 values.

PORTFOLIO VALUE: As of June 30, 2022, the University of Rhode Island’s endowment portfolio had a market value of $194.1 million. The market value for each of the past five years on June 30 is represented below.

$225 $200 $175 $150 $125 $100 $75 $50 $0 IN MILLIONS

139 148 163 218

194

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 TOTAL ASSETS: Total assets represented on this chart include the value of cash, investments (including the endowment portfolio), furniture, equipment, receivables, and other items of value.

$300

$250

$200

$150

$100

$0 IN MILLIONS

198 211 250 313

283

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

A message from Deborah A. Imondi ’83 M.B.A.’86

Chair, Investment Committee

The URI endowment in the past fiscal year was not immune to the global conditions that affected the financial markets. Even though the endowment value dipped below $200 million, our significant gains in recent years have left us in a good position overall. Investment performance combined with gifts from alumni, parents, friends, corporations, and foundations to secure the future of the University.

The Investment Committee remains as dedicated as ever to ensuring the ongoing vitality of scholarships, professorships, research funding, and so much more. We work diligently to position the endowment for long-term gains and annual distributions, and we continue to be inspired in our work by the outstanding generosity of the URI community.

In June 2022, the URIFAE Board of Directors voted on a distribution from the endowment of 3.6 percent, resulting in a $1 million increase over last year. We are proud to partner with the University in its pursuit of both short-term and long-range strategic goals. We will continue to carefully monitor market conditions and make appropriate adjustments to our asset allocation to ensure the best possible results.