A Message from Foundation Leadership

Dear friends,

At UC San Diego, we strive to be a destination public university that is student-centered, research-driven, patient-dedicated, and service-oriented. As of June 2024, the UC San Diego Foundation’s Endowment, valued at $1.59 billion, provides enduring resources in support of this vision, helping to transform our diverse global society through a collaborative culture of scholarship and discovery, open dialogue, and compassionate care.

In fiscal year 2024, against the backdrop of high interest rates, inflation, and continued geopolitical tension, the financial markets continued their upward trend. The public equity markets remained resilient, echoing the economy, hitting all-time highs through ongoing volatility, while the private equity market struggled. The Foundation Endowment’s investment performance was a gain of 15.5% for the year, driven by returns from our primary manager (the UC Investments GEP) of 11.7% and a 24.6% gain by our secondary investment (S&P 500 ETF). We continue to focus on strategic asset allocation and the long-term growth of our investments; the 10-year annual return for the Endowment was 8.4%, a figure that ranks at the top of similar sized endowments. In light of the strong performance, the Board of Trustees elected to increase the payout to Endowment beneficiaries for the coming year.

We are committed to a viable and healthy Endowment payout, one that enriches the student and teaching experience, extends the frontiers of knowledge and health care innovation, and improves lives according to the intentions of our donors. We are confident that our steady investment philosophy and process will bring continued success to the UC San Diego Foundation.

On behalf of the UC San Diego Foundation Board of Trustees, the Regents, and all of our beneficiaries, thank you for your investment in UC San Diego!

Christina J. Chase, CPA, JD
Associate Vice Chancellor, Advancement Services
Interim Associate Vice Chancellor, Alumni Relations
CFO/COO, UC San Diego Foundation

Deborah Bronston-Culp ’80
Chair, Investment/Finance Committee
Trustee, UC San Diego Foundation