Invest like a Pro with Crowdfunding

 

It’s beginning of the New Year 2026 and many people are in the process of reevaluating their portfolios. A typical investment portfolio includes – stocks, bonds, mutual funds, money market, etc., which is a short sighted approach of looking at the world of investments. E.g. University Endowment Funds (Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT, etc.), which take a long term approach and invest in alternatives like: venture capital. 

Currently, Harvard is the largest endowment fund in the U.S. The return on the endowment in FY 2025 was 11.9%, valuing it (after the impact of distributions from the endowment for operations, and the addition of new gifts during the year) at $56.9 billion. Their unique investment approach is that, “the true test of any endowment lies in its ability to generate value beyond market returns.”

Historically, if you look at S&P 500 and USVC Index, USVC Index tend to outperform S&P 500 and they also have any inverse relationship. However, recently the public markets have been outperforming the USVC Index short term and is only slightly higher than S&P 500 in the long run for the most part. Since 2015/6 to 2024/5, Harvard has increased its asset allocation in Private Equity from 20% to 41%, with 14% Venture Capital and 10% Growth Venture as of June 30, 2025. Then what is the reason behind Harvard’s current strategy?

According to JP. Morgan, “The outperformance of public markets is unlikely to persist, and we expect the liquidity premium to return, but it is increasingly important to seek out managers with the ability to outperform consistently by adding meaningful alpha.” So is diversifying to alternatives the answer? What is moving the needle in the alternatives space? Is Crowdfunded Venture Capital an asset class within your reach? What should the crowd be investing in?

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Note: This is not financial guidance. While it is important to have a diversified portfolio, please consider if you are looking for income, capital preservation or growth? Along the way, how tolerant are you of volatility or risk-averse? And is liquidity a concern? The answers to those questions inform allocation decisions, within both traditional and alternative assets. Please note we may offer investment products that invest in the asset class(es) or industries included in this blog.

References:

JP. Morgan: 2026 Year-Ahead Investment Outlook.pdf

Cambridge Associates: 2025-07-US-PE-VC-Benchmark-Commentary-CY-2024-PUBLIC.pdf

Harvard Endowment Reports: harvard_ar_11_12016_final.pdf and Financial Report - FISCAL YEAR 2025

Other related blog post: Investing:101 with NIN.VC ~ NIN Ventures Blog