The Harvard Endowment Fund I think does better than 15% and Buffet too.

Keep in mind the two largest funders of rural Timber land ( not talking AG land) is the Harvard Endowment fund  ( yes that Harvard) and Big Boston Insurance companies..  

I'm planning to raise ~$600,000 and borrow $200,000 to keep the mortgage expense low while the school and the farm ramp up enrollment/tuition, farm to doorstep CSA (community supported agriculture) sales/revenues; and their grant writing and foundational endowment. 

Harvard has the largest academic institution endowment fund in the world.

Longer term, one has to like the notion that the 50 billion permanent fund may be the stabilizing force, with some sort of use of excess earnings or endowment formula to put a backstop in price drops......I see a few local condo prices lowering and days on market look longer here (all anecdotal) but your fourplex may depend on the local rental market, and if that softens, maybe you can find  a deal in the next couple of years and with a ten year plus time line and positive cash flow it may work well if you can hold through the low oil price cycle...best of luck

I would say it's a separate conversation for you.... or at least over 5-7 years you can spread out the premiums.The reason is that the it needs to remain outside of the MEC (modified endowment contract) status, which is a ratio between premium and death benefit. 

With the continued growth of the TAMU research endowments, I expect it to remain super profitable, as grad students with families continue to need off campus housing.  

Endowment funds or teacher's retirement funds allocate their capital to various asset classes to deliver the necessary growth at a given level of risk.  

But my major bet is we will see more family offices get in, more insurance companies, more corporations adding it to their reserve balance sheets, more endowments - which are already in, and more hedge funds getting in, and more banks building business around it.

And you may end owing your tenant damages.