<p>Stanford Report, September 14, 2005
University endowment yields high return</p>
<p>The Stanford Merged Endowment Pool (MEP) generated a 19.5 percent investment return for the 12 months ended June 30, 2005, according to the Stanford Management Company.</p>
<p>Over this one-year period the U.S. equity market, as measured by the S&P 500 Index, was up 6.3 percent; and the U.S. bond market, as measured by the Lehman Aggregate Bond Index, was up 6.8 percent. Investment returns over the last year were particularly strong in international markets, real estate and energy-related natural resource investments. Over the past 10 years, the MEP has achieved an annualized return of 15.4 percent, growing from $3.0 billion to $12.4 billion.</p>
<p>The MEP is Stanford's primary investment pool for the university's endowment and a large percentage of its expendable funds. Income from the Stanford University endowment supported 17 percent of the university's $2.6 billion operating budget for the 2004-05 fiscal year. Other non-endowment investment income contributed an additional 3 percent to the budget.</p>