The investment return was 9.8 percent during the first half of year 2026
The University of Helsinki's financial investments' return was 9.8 percent from January to June 2026, which increased the investments' value to EUR 914 million. The investments have returned 138.2 percent or approximately EUR 500 million since 2019, when the university adopted the current investment strategy. The compound annual return (CAGR) has been 12.3 percent per annum, which is roughly two percentage points more than the 10.4 percent for the benchmark index.
"Predicting stock markets' short-term movements has scientifically been found to be so challenging, that it generally does not pay off - despite its superficial attractiveness. We would not have obtained these returns and would now have a significantly lower capacity to carry risk, if we would have acted on the recurring warnings of weak expected returns", Chief Investment Officer Anders Ekholm summarizes.
"In the long run, companies' business operations drive stock returns, and we can expect a premium for the risk. We must take care of our risk management, so that we are able to continue investing in the long run under all circumstances, also during strong turbulence", Chief Financial Officer Marjo Berglund continues.
University of Helsinki's investment activities are built firmly on science. Its corner stones are broad diversification, low costs, a consequent risk level, and the mitigation of climate change. At least 90 percent of the assets are diversified globally in listed stocks and bonds. Furthermore, at most 10 percent of the assets are focused to spinout and startup companies founded around the University of Helsinki.
