Key facts

Reported value

USD 2.81 billion

As of

June 30, 2025

Portfolio

Total endowment, including real estate investments

Investment office

GW investment function; Strategic Investment Group OCIO

Spending policy

4.5% on stated policy basis

Management model

Outsourced CIO: Strategic Investment Group; stated exclusions

Data through FY2025

Balance reference

Endowment size and reporting scope

Endowment accounting follows both ownership and donor restrictions. Donor-restricted principal and accumulated gains can sit in the same investment vehicle as board-designated funds. The investment portfolio can be managed collectively while each account preserves its designated use. A consolidated statement adds other assets and obligations, including property and debt, that have no place in an endowment-only balance. The difference between total assets and net assets is also relevant: net assets are measured after liabilities. Financial reporting basis

The latest balance is labelled total university endowment and is dated June 30, 2025. The return series identifies the portfolio as Total endowment, including real estate investments. The historical survey below retains the respondent scope reported to NACUBO. A pooled investment vehicle can include working capital, reserves or assets for associated organizations alongside endowed gifts. Each participating fund owns its own economic interest in that vehicle. The pool's market value, the institution's endowment balance and the investment manager's corporate assets describe different quantities. Official report

Source: NACUBO · Data through FY2025

Across the reported FY2016 to FY2025 observations, the survey balance changed by USD 1,242.3 million (79.1%). This is balance growth; it includes the effect of new capital and distributions. NACUBO historical values FY2025 respondent table

Investment returns

Performance report

Fee basis: Net investment returns.

The 1-year result is 11.7%, while the 10-year result is 6.2% annually. The trailing periods share the same end date and overlap; their percentages are not added together. A long-term annualized return describes compound growth over the full period. The year-end asset balance also reflects money entering or leaving the portfolio. Return series

Spending policy and payout

The Board of Trustees-approved payout formula applies 4.5% to a rolling twelve-quarter average market value, adjusted for new gifts during the year. Endowment support reaches scholarships, fellowships, faculty positions and academic programs. The current official annual report supplies this formula. Spending disclosure

Source: finance.gwu.edu · Data through FY2025

A distribution is money made available for the fund's designated use. A policy rate uses the averaging base defined by the institution. Dividing the distribution by the latest closing balance would create another measure, so the published formula and the reported dollar amount retain their own labels. Distribution basis

The spending base determines how quickly market changes enter annual support. A trailing average combines several valuation dates, and a formula based partly on prior spending carries an additional lag. A published distribution describes support authorized for that year. It need not equal the cash a beneficiary department spends within the same period. Donor purpose restrictions continue to govern that spending, while any internal assessment must retain its own fee label. Spending and reporting scope

Governance and investment office

Strategic Investment Group acts as outsourced CIO for most endowment assets. Its mandate excludes certain separately managed funds and real estate investment properties. The Committee on Finance and Investments works with the OCIO on investment targets and ranges. Investment governance

Federal excise tax on investment income

Public Law 119-21 changed IRC 4968 for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025. An applicable institution must have at least 3,000 tuition-paying students in the preceding tax year, with more than half located in the United States. Its student-adjusted endowment must be at least $500,000. The rate is 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

The tax applies to net investment income. Student-adjusted endowment uses the prior year's fair value of assets other than those used directly for exempt purposes, with statutory student-count and related-organization rules. Dividing the headline endowment by a fall enrollment number can give a different result. A rate on investment income also differs from a spending-policy percentage applied to average assets.

FY2025 size-band comparison

The FY2025 NACUBO respondent value of USD 2,812.6 million places this reporting entity in the $1B to $5B band. The published group contains 125 respondents. Its average annualized five-year return was 10.8%, its ten-year average was 8.0%, and its average effective spending rate was 4.5%. These are survey averages for FY2025. Respondent counts Average net returns Spending-rate table

Source: NACUBO · Data through FY2025

Source: NACUBO · Data through FY2025

NCSE returns are net of external management fees and expenses for periods ended June 30, 2025. A portfolio reported on another cost convention or fiscal-year end describes a different result. Survey allocation definitions

The NCSE allocation groups combine several underlying investment strategies. Alternatives can include private capital, hedge funds and real assets, so matching that broad percentage does not imply matching individual holdings or liquidity. The size-band return is an average of respondent results. It describes a survey group for a common period and does not replace the institution's own investment-policy benchmark. Trailing five- and ten-year returns are annualized compound results, while the one-year return measures the final fiscal year alone. NCSE definitions

Public records and reporting dates

The official investment report supplies the portfolio figures and measurement dates on this page. The institution or related reporting entity also has a public nonprofit filing record. Tax-return assets and expenses cover that legal filer and can be broader than its endowment. Nonprofit filing record

The ProPublica API identifies the legal filer as George Washington University, EIN 530196584. Its available Form 990 data for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023 report total filer assets of USD 4,984.565 million, revenue of USD 1,803.011 million, expenses of USD 1,749.076 million. These figures cover the legal filer. Its assets and operating activity can include resources outside the endowment, and this filing period predates the investment figures above. ProPublica structured filing data

Related reading

• Endowment size bands
• Endowments.com
• FamilyOffices.com