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The 2023 fiscal year was great for investors across the world — but not for managers of Ivy League endowments. The numbers in the latest report on universities’ investment performance may not be as bad as they appear at first, but they still leave managers scratching their heads. Somehow, the average Ivy League endowment fund gained only 2.1% in the year to July 2023, compared to 11% in a global 70/30 benchmark (70% stocks, 30% bonds) and an average of 9.8% for the smallest endowments with $50 million or less to invest. That’s enough to raise questions about a strategy that has revolutionized investing — the Yale Model.