Models for Managing Endowment Funds in Russian and Foreign Universities

Abstract

Subject. Endowment funds worldwide generate a significant portion of financing for higher education institutions. University endowment funds are nonprofit resources with long-term or perpetual operation, whose capital is formed through donations and subsequently invested to generate income channeled into the statutory objectives of universities. Objective. This study presents a comparative analysis of endowment capital management models at Russian and foreign universities. Depending on the balance between targeted risk and return indicators, various strategies are employed, ranging from conservative approaches utilizing traditional financial instruments to high-risk strategies with substantial investments in innovative startups. Relevance. In Russia, endowment funds are primarily regarded as a mechanism to ensure a stable long-term financial flow with minimal risks, regulated at the legislative level. Conclusions. Intensification of the inflow of funds into Russian university endowments by means of investing “long money” into innovative projects of advanced academic institutions (following the Stanford model) may contribute to economic growth. However, in order to achieve this, it is necessary to overcome existing problems, such as the following: instability of incoming cash flow; insufficient experience of intra-university structures in capital accumulation; restrictions imposed on the use of investment instruments, as well as volatility of the level of expenditure of cash flow.