The rocketry company SpaceX went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange June 12. The offering raised over $85 billion and secured a valuation of around $1.8 trillion. The same month, University President Scott Beardsley said at a Board of Visitors meeting that the University’s endowment had reached a record $17 billion. As a pool of invested assets, the University’s endowment is deeply intertwined with the fortunes of public corporations like SpaceX.
The University’s equity in SpaceX accounts for a “low single-digit percentage” of the endowment, per The Wall Street Journal. The University of Virginia Investment Management Company did not respond to requests for comment on the exact value of its SpaceX investment.
According to Victoria Harker, Board vice rector and Finance Committee chair, the early price shifts of SpaceX stock are to be expected and will have no impact on the University’s return.
“SpaceX — and other AI/big tech investments — are highly volatile,” Harker told The Cavalier Daily in a written statement. “The stock price could move dramatically — up or down — over that period, before shares are distributed and available for sale — either profit-taking or loss generation — by UVIMCO.”
Some peer institutions have reported eye-popping returns on their SpaceX investments. According to a Bloomberg article published May 21 — prior to SpaceX’s IPO — Washington University in St. Louis’s $50 million investment in the company yielded $1.5 billion — a 3,000 percent return.
However, investors’ initial excitement around SpaceX’s initial public offering is simmering down as the firm’s share price has fallen nearly 45 percent from its closing-bell high of $201.80 June 16, according to Yahoo Finance.
The University’s long-term pool of assets — which make up the $17 billion figure — is a collection of four separate funds all managed by UVIMCO. As of June 30, 2025, UVIMCO’s publicly available data reports its total assets under management — the combined value of all its investments — as $15.5 billion. The Rector and Visitors’ endowment makes up $7.9 billion, the Strategic Investment Fund makes up $2.1 billion, other long-term assets make up $2 billion and assets held by University-associated organizations, such as the Jefferson Scholars Foundation and U.Va. Alumni Association, make up $3.5 billion.
In line with UVIMCO’s philosophy to “focus on the long term,” the University's endowment will not feel the effects of its SpaceX investment or other large corporation investments for some time, according to Harker.
“[UVIMCO’s SpaceX investment] is primarily through existing private venture capital and growth equity fund investment vehicles, which typically distribute shares over the medium to longer term — typically at least 12-15 months,” Harker wrote.
Beyond its investments in individual firms, the University’s endowment has performed steadily over the last five years. According to Harker, UVIMCO’s long-term pool has had an annualized five-year return of 8.3 percent as of May 30.
“[This return] is a lot to be proud of, given general market volatility in recent periods,” Harker wrote. “This helps ensure the strength of the endowment, after both spending draws and the relatively higher rate of inflation over the same period.”
Organizations such as the National Association of College and University Business Officers produce frequent research on endowment performance across the country.
The 2025 Commonfund Study of Endowments produced by NACUBO provided a more critical assessment of the University’s endowment performance than Harker. The study indicated that the University’s performance was below average. The five-year average annual return of the study’s 657 institutions was 10.2 percent, 1.9 points ahead of the University’s return over the same period.
Another key difference between UVIMCO’s investments and the mean endowment included in the Commonfund Study was asset allocation. For instance, UVIMCO allocated 4.5 percent to fixed income, while the average endowment allocated 11 percent in FY 25. Fixed income investments have set returns and typically carry a lower risk for investors.
Regardless of the precise investment strategy, a well-managed endowment is critical for an institution’s success, Kara D. Freeman, president and CEO of NACUBO, wrote in the Commonfund Study.
“Endowments help fuel innovation and serve as a stable foundation for institutions,” Freeman wrote. “Because of challenges in the economy, some institutions relied more heavily on their endowments — but that additional spending benefited students, faculty, staff, research, operations and more.”
According to UVIMCO’s investment philosophy, the ultimate success or failure of UVIMCO’s investments will “be measured in years, if not decades,” with the 2026 annual report likely to be released in the fall.
Nicolas Biernacki is a staff writer on the news desk. He is a fourth-year Government student from Ashburn, Va.
Read More
Wahoo Commute program encourages sustainable transportation for U.Va. employees
By Charlotte Gabriel | 18 hours agoAs traffic and parking demand continues to increase around Grounds, the Department of Parking and Transportation's Wahoo Commute program provides cash incentives to University employees for walking, biking, using a scooter, using transit, vanpooling or carpooling.
Beardsley names committee to compose the University’s next strategic plan
By Lauren Seeliger | 18 hours agoThe July 13 media release lays out some early priorities Beardsley has for the planning process, a few of which include “faculty excellence, access and affordability … [and] world-class patient care.”
McIntire reports 43.5 percent admission rate and 3.9 mean GPA in 2026 admission cycle
By Michael Racz | 2 days agoThis spring marked the first McIntire School of Commerce admissions cycle in which only first-year students were eligible to apply, completing the School's transition to its redesigned three-year undergraduate program.
