Texas Permanent University Fund (PUF)

United States · North America · Founded 1876 · Sub-national permanent fund · Not an IFSWF member

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Focus

PUF: what it invests in

TechnologyFinancial servicesReal estateEnergy: oil and gas

Public equitiesFixed incomeReal estatePrivate equityVenture capitalCommodities and gold

Geography Global

Scale

PUF: how big it is, and on what basis

USD 40.29B

Net assets or equityAs of 2025-08-31

In US dollars: about USD 40.3B. Reported in US dollars.

Return, fiscal 2025 10.0%

Transparency

PUF: what it publishes

9.0 of 10 Band 5 of 5

Published 8 · Partly 2 · Not published 0

Our 10 item score. It measures what is public, not how well a fund is run.

Net positionS4: USD 40.29B (31 August 2025, audited); As of 2025-08-31
Return, fiscal 2025S4: 10.0%; As of 2025-08-31
10-year returnS5: 8.63% a year; As of 2025-08-31
Payout, fiscal 2025S4: USD 1.52B; As of 2025-08-31
Mineral income, fiscal 2025S4: USD 1.72B; As of 2025-08-31
Land heldS4: 2.1M acres; As of 2025-08-31
Transparency scoreS4: 9 of 10; As of 2025-08-31

At a glance. The Permanent University Fund is a Texas state endowment built on oil and gas royalties from 2.1 million acres of West Texas land. Its financial assets reached USD 40.3 billion at 31 August 2025 (audited), managed by UTIMCO. Each year it pays into the Available University Fund, which services bonds and funds academic programmes at the University of Texas and Texas A&M Systems. S4 S1

Key points

Returned 10.0 percent in fiscal 2025 and 8.63 percent a year over ten years. S4 S5
Paid USD 1,524.9 million to the Available University Fund in fiscal 2025. S4
PUF lands produced USD 1,719.1 million of mineral income in fiscal 2025, up from USD 1,850.3 million a year earlier. S4
About USD 33.8 billion of the USD 40.5 billion portfolio sits in external investment funds. S4
Grew by USD 3.8 billion, or about 10.5 percent, in fiscal 2025. S4
UTIMCO has 126 staff, 56 of them investment professionals, and runs USD 85.2 billion in total. S1 S5
Bonds backed by the fund can be issued up to 30 percent of its non-land value. S2

Interesting facts

The original land grant was arid ranch country; the Santa Rita No. 1 oil discovery in 1923 turned it into one of the richest endowments in the US. S2 S1
In 1900 the fund earned about USD 40,000, mostly from grazing leases. S2
UT System schools receive two thirds of the payout and Texas A&M one third. S2

Mandate and goals

Under the Texas Constitution the fund pays stable, inflation-adjusted distributions to the Available University Fund while keeping its real value over the long term. S4

Preserve the purchasing power of the fund for future generations of students. S4
Provide steady, inflation-adjusted payouts to the Available University Fund. S4
Back debt service on bonds issued by the UT and Texas A&M Boards. S4
Support academic excellence at UT Austin, Texas A&M and Prairie View A&M. S4
Spending rule: Distribution set by the UT Board within constitutional limits; USD 1,524.9 million in fiscal 2025 S4

How it invests

Industries	Technology, Financial services, Real estate, Energy: oil and gas. Sector agnostic S1
Asset classes	Public equities, Fixed income, Real estate, Private equity, Venture capital, Commodities and gold, Hedge funds and absolute return, Cash and money markets S1
Stages	Public markets, Buyout, Venture, Real estate, Credit S1
Geography	Global. Global portfolio; the land holdings sit in West Texas S1
Direct / through funds / co-invest	Yes / Yes / Not published S4 S1
Ticket size	No ticket size is published. S4
External managers	About USD 33.8B is held in external investment, hedge and private funds, including strategic partnerships S4 S1
Co-investment programme	Not published as a programme S1

Asset mix: Investment funds 83.4%, Equity securities 7.6%, Debt securities 4.9%, Cash 4.0% (as of 2025-08-31) S4

Published criteria

Invested under the prudent investor standard adopted by constitutional amendment in 1999. S2
Managed to the Endowment Policy Portfolio, whose return is the weighted sum of asset class benchmarks. S1

Past investments

The fund has not published a list of investments.

Case studies

From grazing land to oil endowment S2 S1

What: Oil was found on university land at Santa Rita No. 1, and royalties began to flow into the fund.
When: 1923
Size: 2.1 million acres today
Why: The constitution kept royalty income in a permanent fund for the universities.
Outcome: Mineral income was USD 1.72B in fiscal 2025 alone.

UTIMCO: a dedicated investment company S1 S2

What: Created UTIMCO to run the PUF and other UT and Texas A&M money under one policy portfolio.
When: March 1996
Size: USD 85.2B across all funds in 2025
Why: To bring professional, prudent-investor management to the endowments.
Outcome: PUF returned 8.63 percent a year over the ten years to August 2025.

Investment process

The UT System Board of Regents holds fiduciary duty for the investments and sets the payout. It delegates day-to-day management to UTIMCO, whose board includes UT and Texas A&M regents and has Audit, Compensation, Risk and Policy committees. S1 S2

Committee	Role
UTIMCO Board of Directors	Oversees investment policy and UTIMCO; chaired by James C. Weaver S1
Audit, Compensation, Risk and Policy Committees	Board committees of UTIMCO S1

The Regents approve investment policies and the policy portfolio. S1
UTIMCO staff pick external managers and strategic partners and run some assets in house. S1 S4
Results and full holdings are audited each year and published within about two months. S4 S6

How to approach: Managers and partners engage UTIMCO directly through its website; there is no published programme for outside co-investors. S3

Size and returns

Headline size: USD 40.29B (Net assets or equity, as of 2025-08-31) S4
In US dollars: about USD 40.3B. Reported in US dollars.
Total assets: USD 41.85B (Total assets (balance sheet), as of 2025-08-31) S4
All UTIMCO-managed funds: USD 85.18B (Assets under management, as of 2025-08-31) S5
Return, fiscal 2025 (to 31 August): 10.0 percent (net) S4
Return, 3 years: 8.36 percent a year S5
Return, 5 years: 9.45 percent a year S5
Return, 10 years: 8.63 percent a year S5
Staff: 126 UTIMCO employees, 56 investment professionals S1
Size over time (USD billion): 1990 3.54, 2024-08 36.47, 2025-08 40.29 S2 S4

Leadership

Name	Title
Richard Hall	President, CEO and Chief Investment Officer, UTIMCO S1
James C. "Rad" Weaver	Chairman, UTIMCO Board S1
Jay Graham	Vice Chairman, UTIMCO Board S1
Janiece Longoria	Vice Chairman for Policy, UTIMCO Board S1
Joan Moeller	Chief Operating Officer, UTIMCO S1

Governance and transparency

Legal basis: Texas Constitution of 1876, as amended S2
Oversight: UT System Board of Regents as fiduciary; investments delegated to UTIMCO S1
Auditor: Deloitte and Touche LLP; unmodified opinion dated 29 October 2025 S6
Audited statements cover investments only and exclude the 2.1 million acres of land. S6
Land is managed separately by the UT System administration. S2

Transparency score: 9.0 of 10 (band 5 of 5). Our own 10-item rubric; see the methodology page.

Published: total assets, annual return, long-term returns, holdings or deal list, audited financial statements, governance and mandate documents, named leadership, regular reporting schedule. S1 S4 S5 S6
Partly published: asset allocation, geographic or sector split. S1 S4

History

Date	Event
1876	Fund created by the Texas Constitution with one million acres. S2
1923	Santa Rita No. 1 strikes oil on university land. S1
1988	Investment restrictions replaced by a prudent person standard. S2
1996-03	UTIMCO created to manage the endowments. S1
1999	Prudent investor standard adopted. S2
2008	Payout rate raised to 5 percent of fund value. S2
2025-08-31	Fiscal 2025: USD 40.3B net position, 10.0 percent return. S4

For family offices

The PUF is a closed state endowment with no programme for private co-investors. Outside firms meet it as external fund managers or strategic partners of UTIMCO. S1 S4

Fund managers in equities, hedge funds, private equity, venture capital and real estate can seek UTIMCO allocations. S1

Reports

PUF audited financial statements 2025: https://utimco.org/media/3glhzmod/2025-puf-audited-financial-statements.pdf S4
PUF detail schedules of investment securities 2025: https://www.utimco.org/media/0p1b4fob/2025-puf-audited-detail-schedules-of-investment-securities.pdf S6
UTIMCO annual report 2025: https://www.utimco.org/media/1kib4vyb/2025-annual-report.pdf S1

Common questions

How big is the Texas Permanent University Fund?

USD 40.3 billion of financial assets at 31 August 2025 (audited), plus 2.1 million acres of land. S4

Who manages the PUF?

UTIMCO, led by President, CEO and CIO Richard Hall. S1

What does the PUF return?

10.0 percent in fiscal 2025 and 8.63 percent a year over ten years. S4 S5

Who benefits from the PUF?

The UT and Texas A&M Systems, through the Available University Fund; UT gets two thirds and Texas A&M one third. S4 S2

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All sovereign wealth funds in North America · All sub-national permanent funds · All funds in United States

Sources

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