V-T, WM, VMI endowments thriving

College endowments got hammered in the last fiscal year, losing nearly one-fifth of their value on average, even after the partial recovery of spring and summer 2009.

Some funds (and fund managers) fared better than others. Harvard, in particular, has been singled out for criticism.

But a report by the online publication 24/7 Wall St. suggests that some local institutions managed their money relatively well.

The publication reviewed endowment performance and, according to the report, "made comparisons based on 1) absolute dollar gain and loss, 2) percentage gain and loss, 3) greatest percent and absolute dollar gains and losses at the largest endowments (those with over $1 billion under management) with a special focus on those that lost 5 percent more than the average endowment in the survey or 23.7 percent, and 4) colleges and universities with endowments of more than $300 million which outperformed the average endowment loss of 18.7 percent by 5 percent-that is, those which had percentage losses of 13.7 percent or less."

The results: Harvard, Yale and Duke had the worst-managed endowments, in that order, losing nearly 30 percent each.

Virginia Tech had the second-best-managed endowment, down 14 percent. (Washington State University ranked first.) The College of William and Mary ranks fifth-best, its endowment down 15 percent.

Also singled out for "best-of-class" endowment performance: the Virginia Military Institute.

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