Perspective: UTAM’s 2025 Annual Report marks 25 years of looking to the future

UTAM’s 2025 Annual Report reviews the performance of the Endowment portfolio and working capital portfolios managed on behalf of the University of Toronto. This report also marks a notable anniversary – 25 years – for UTAM, which began operations on May 1, 2000.

The report’s theme and title, Perspective, reflects both the experience that comes with 25 years and the long-term, forward-looking outlook that has always guided our investment approach. As UTAM President and Chief Investment Officer Chuck O’Reilly explains in his message to stakeholders, that perspective allows UTAM to look past short-term market volatility to focus on what matters: advancing the University of Toronto’s mission through disciplined, responsible investing. “We see UTAM’s history not simply as a series of milestones, but as a continuous process: 25 years of looking to the future.”

Richard Nunn, Chair of UTAM’s Board of Directors, echoes the theme in his message, reflecting on the major disruptions UTAM has navigated since 2000 – from the collapse of the dot-com bubble to the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic – and the organizational resilience those experiences have built. As he writes: “Recognizing potential echoes of the past can be instructive for an organization dedicated, like UTAM, to investing for the benefit of future generations.”

Strong long-term results

In 2025, the Endowment portfolio – the university’s long-term endowment assets, along with other funds invested for the long term – delivered a return of 10.8% net of all fees and expenses, including UTAM costs. Over the 10-year period ending December 31, 2025, the Endowment generated an annualized net return of 8.4%, compared to the university’s target return of 6.7% per annum. That decade of outperformance has yielded approximately $630.5 million above U of T’s targeted returns.

The Expendable Funds Investment Pool (EFIP) – the university’s working capital assets, invested for the short to medium term – returned 4.6% net of all fees and expenses in 2025, outperforming its benchmark target. Over the past 10 years, EFIP has returned 2.6%, compared to its target of 2.2%, resulting in a cumulative gain of almost $116 million.

An interview with President Woodin

Our report also features a wide-ranging Q&A with Melanie Woodin, who became the 17th President of the University of Toronto on July 1, 2025. President Woodin discusses the university’s ambition to “meet the moment” for its community and for Canada, and the significant role UTAM’s stewardship of the Endowment portfolio continues to play in sustaining that mission: “Underpinning all of our efforts is a bedrock commitment that UTAM has helped us put into action for a quarter-century: to invest strategically and responsibly in pursuit of a brighter future.”

Continued progress on climate-related commitments

We continue to make progress towards fulfilling our primary climate commitments. At the end of 2025, the carbon footprint of the Endowment Sub-Portfolio (which consists of equity, equity-like and corporate bond securities) was 18.1 tCO₂e/$M (based on total emissions of 67,978.3 tCO₂e).

On fossil fuel divestment, positive momentum continues. Having eliminated all direct exposure to fossil fuel companies in 2022, the Endowment portfolio’s indirect fossil fuel exposure was further reduced to approximately 0.5% of net asset value at the end of 2025 – down from 2.0% at December 31, 2021. We have also completed the transition of the Reference Portfolio’s asset class benchmarks to indexes that exclude fossil fuels.

UTAM committed to allocate at least 10% of the Endowment portfolio to sustainable and low-carbon investments by 2025. We achieved this target during 2024, and at December 31, 2025, 17.3% of the Endowment’s net asset value was invested in such strategies.

Strategically focused on the horizon

“Marking UTAM’s 25th anniversary also gives me an opportunity to recognize and thank the many staff members who have contributed to our success,” says Chuck O’Reilly. “Every goal, every commitment and ideal expressed in our Purpose, Vision and our other Foundational Statements – it’s our staff, past and present, who have put these ideas into action. We’re proud that our work together helps support the mission of Canada’s largest university.”

The reporting UTAM provides necessarily focuses on quantitative investment results in the Endowment portfolio and EFIP. But there’s a qualitative side of our results, too. In each annual report – and in a dedicated Impact section on our website – we provide Investment Impact stories detailing how the Endowment supports student scholarships, endowed chairs, research funding and other distributions. “These stories demonstrate how visionary giving and prudent investment management translate into tangible achievement,” explains David Palmer, U of T’s Vice-President, Advancement. “The Endowment doesn’t simply fund current needs; it will keep on growing, under UTAM’s stewardship, so that future students and faculty can continue to transform the world for the better.”

The perspective we’ve gained over 25 years, as stewards of the financial assets we manage on behalf of the university, has confirmed the value of our prudent investment approach. We measure success not by year-over-year results but through carefully evaluating performance over a longer time span. In our regular reporting to the university and its stakeholders, we present progress metrics against objective benchmarks and clearly defined investment goals, reflecting the university’s broader, long-term objectives. “Effective management of our investment assets is critical to sustaining our mission,” President Woodin says. “That’s what UTAM has been doing for 25 years.”

For more details, read and download the 2025 Annual Report, UTAM’s 2025 Financial Statements, Carbon Footprint Report and TCFD Report.