Endowments: Small is Beautiful

University endowments lost, on average, almost 19 percent in the fiscal year ending last June. But Harvard, Yale and other biggies fared worse, as shown in the NY Times graphic below. Reason: Alternative investments:

Institutions with endowments greater than a billion dollars had 61 percent of their investments in such alternatives last year, compared with 52 percent the previous year. In contrast, universities with endowments under $25 million had only 13 percent of their assets in such investments, up from 11 percent the previous year.