Institutional Investor magazine has announced that Adele Gorrilla, chief investment officer for Denison University, has been honored as its Small Endowment Manager of the Year.
The publication’s U.S. Investment Management Awards recognize leading investment professionals whose innovative strategies and fiduciary savvy have resulted in impressive returns.
Gorrilla, who joined the university’s investment office in 2008, has been charged with the management of Denison’s $740 million endowment. In the five-year period ending in 2012, Denison’s endowment achieved an annualized return of 4.1 percent. This return, according to Institutional Investor, outperformed the endowments of Harvard and Yale, which saw annualized five-year returns of 1.24 percent and 1.83 percent, respectively.
“Our endowment is sizable considering that it’s supporting a residential liberal arts college with 2,100 undergrads. Per student, that’s fairly high,” says Gorrilla. “The mission of it is purely to support the institution. We employ a five percent spending per annum, which services about 30 percent of the operating budget.”
“Adele and her team have been exceptional,” said Vice President for Finance and Management Seth Patton. “It is the endowment that provides the financial resources that allows us to be so generous with financial aid, making Denison more accessible and affordable for families.”
In congratulating Gorrilla, Denison President Adam Weinberg said, “The important work of Adele and her team is producing investment results that allow us to change the lives of our amazing Denison students.”
This year’s manager winners include Xerox, Northwestern University and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, among others. The award winners will be honored along with special honorees at a dinner and ceremony on Thursday, May 15, in New York City.