From the article, it sounds like 'fiscal 2009' must've encompassed late 2008/early 2009, in which case 30% losses would not be abnormal. Otherwise this line sounds a bit odd:

At the end of fiscal 2008, Yale continued to turn in the best 10-year performance with an average annualized gain of 16.3 percent, which was followed by Harvard with 13.8 percent.