Key facts

Reported value

CAD 1.04 billion

As of

April 30, 2025

Portfolio

University endowment

Location

Hamilton, ON

Spending policy

4% on the stated policy base

Data through FY2025

Balance reference

Endowment size and reporting scope

An endowment can contain many individual accounts with different donor purposes. Investing them together changes how assets are managed, while the accounts continue to record each beneficiary's interest. The market value of a pooled vehicle can also include reserves or other long-term funds. An endowment balance, a managed pool and total organizational assets can consequently differ even when all figures are reported accurately. Survey scope and definitions

The official CAD 1,041.700 million figure and the FY2025 survey's USD 1,362.247 million describe their respective dates and reporting categories. The official balance retains its stated label, university endowment, official cad value. A change in currency, period or included accounts can produce a different total; the figures are presented separately. Official financial scope

Source: NACUBO · Data through FY2025

The FY2025 survey value for McMaster University is USD 1,362.247 million, compared with USD 1,205.488 million for FY2024. The USD 156.759 million movement is 13.00% of the earlier balance. It includes changes in investments as well as additions and distributions. NACUBO explicitly distinguishes this change in market value from an investment rate of return. FY2025 respondent values and definitions

The available history begins in FY2016 at USD 510.408 million and ends in FY2025 at USD 1,362.247 million. The change across those observations is USD 851.839 million. The smallest reported balance in the displayed series is USD 510.408 million in FY2016; the largest is USD 1,362.247 million in FY2025. These are closing asset values. They do not show how much of a year's movement came from new gifts, spending or investment results. NACUBO historical workbook

The survey expresses Canadian institutions' balances in U.S. dollars using the conversion conventions stated in the workbook. Exchange-rate movements can affect changes between fiscal years. The official Canadian-dollar balance elsewhere on this page retains its own currency and fiscal date. The U.S. historical values are not spliced into a Canadian-dollar line.

Investment returns

Performance report

Fee basis: Investment management expenses are netted against investment income; report also describes administration costs.

A trailing multi-year return is an annualized compound result over the period shown. The one-year figure covers the final year. These periods overlap, so their returns are not added. A published dollar investment gain can reflect accounting categories and cash flows that differ from the percentage performance calculation. Return definitions and reporting basis

Spending policy and payout

McMaster allocates 4% for annual spending using the monthly average market value of a trust's capital over the previous five calendar years, or its period in existence if shorter. The report separately describes approximately 0.4% in investment management expenses and a 1% trust-administration deduction on its stated base. Spending disclosure

Source: NACUBO · Data through FY2025

The size of a spending account is separate from the current market value of its underlying endowment. A transfer from the investment pool authorizes support for the account's purpose. A smoothing formula can delay the effect of market gains or losses on that support. Unspent distributions can also remain available for a beneficiary beyond the year of appropriation. Spending measures

Governance and investment office

External investment managers operate under McMaster's Statement of Investment Policies and Procedures. The Investment Pool Committee and the Board of Governors' Planning and Resource Committee monitor the program. Fund purposes and the terms of each trust govern the use of spending allocations. Investment governance

Federal excise tax on investment income

Public Law 119-21 changed Section 4968 for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025. Applicable private institutions must have at least 3,000 tuition-paying students in the preceding tax year, with more than half located in the United States, and student-adjusted endowment of at least $500,000. The rates are 1.4% from $500,000 through $750,000 per student, 4% above $750,000 through $2 million, and 8% above $2 million. Enacted law, Section 70415 These rates apply to net investment income, using the law's prior-year asset and student-count definitions.

McMaster University is a Canadian institution. The U.S. private-college schedule does not classify its Canadian endowment as a U.S. private-college portfolio. Its Canadian fiscal-year balance and the survey's U.S.-dollar conversion also use different currency conventions. No U.S. institution-specific tier is assigned here.

Reporting comparisons

The U.S. NCSE size-band averages are based on U.S. respondents. This Canadian institution is outside those published comparison groups. The historical dollar series above follows NACUBO's conversion convention; a Canadian investment return follows its stated portfolio currency and fiscal year-end. An April or March reporting period does not match the U.S. June 30 endpoint. Currency and date alignment are needed before comparing percentage performance. NCSE universe and return periods

Public records and reporting dates

NACUBO's respondent is McMaster University. Annual financial statements and any nonprofit return can cover a different legal entity or a wider group of resources. A university, a supporting foundation and an investment pool can each report its own assets. Total organizational assets also include resources outside the endowment, and the tax-return accounting period can differ from the survey's reporting year. Those distinctions govern how public records are compared. Respondent identity

Related reading

• Comparable endowment sizes
• Endowment directory
• Endowments by state
• Endowments by size
• University endowments
• Queen's University
• The University of Western Ontario
• Brandeis University