It lost some money. But it lost less money than most.

That's the news about Virginia Tech's endowment from online magazine 24/7 Wall St.

The publication recently ranked Tech second among the country's 17 best-managed college and university endowment funds based on an analysis of the annual National Association of College and University Business Officers report released in January.

The report measures financial performance at 842 public and private institutions across the country. Between fiscal years 2008 and 2009, the average endowment loss was 18.7 percent of market value, the report stated.

In contrast, Tech's endowment value dropped by 14.4 percent, or $78 million, and has showed potential for rebound.

Tech came in behind top-ranked Washington State University, which posted a 9 percent, or $59 million, loss.

"Although we are delighted to be recognized among the best managed university endowments in 2009, endowment performance is best viewed with a long-term horizon," Tech Treasurer Ray Smoot said.

Smoot noted in an e-mail that for the past five years, Tech's endowment has performed in the top 25 percent of institutions measured in the association's annual report.

"We believe this is a more significant measure of endowment performance," Smoot wrote.

Tech's endowment reached an all-time high of $540 million in December 2007 but dropped along with the spiraling national economy to $404 million by March 31, 2009.

It rebounded in December to $507 million and showed a 21.7 percent return for the 2009 calendar year, Smoot wrote.

The annualized return for future years is estimated to be 10.2 percent.

The College of William & Mary, at No. 5, was the only other Virginia school to make the best-managed list. Other major state universities took heavy losses.

Among the biggest declines was at Virginia Military Institute, which lost about 28 percent of its endowment's value, while the University of Virginia lost 22.7 percent. Radford University was down 21 percent, and James Madison University lost 16.3 percent, according to the report.

Ivy League schools topped the magazine's "worst managed" list, with Harvard and Yale taking the top two spots. Duke University was third.