The Stanford University Merged Pool achieved a 1.0 percent return on investments over 12 months ending June 30, 2012.

The Merged Pool (MP) is Stanford’s primary investment pool, including the majority of the University’s endowment and expendable funds, the University’s capital reserves from Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital’s capital reserves.

The University endowment grew by 3.2 percent to $17.0 billion during Stanford’s fiscal year ending Aug. 31, 2012. The endowment payout over that period was $872 million, or 5.3 percent of the endowment’s value at the beginning of the year. The budgeted endowment payout for the 2013 fiscal year is $926 million, or 5.4 percent of the beginning-of-year endowment value.

“Fiscal year 2012 was a challenging year for international equity markets, which was a drag on the portfolio,” John Powers, CEO of the Stanford Management Company, told Stanford Report. “Nevertheless, we exited the year with improved liquidity and a high-quality portfolio in the face of a macroeconomy which still poses significant risks.”

In the past 10 years, the University’s endowment has grown from $7.5 billion to $19.7 billion.

“Our endowment is still smaller than preceding the 2008-09 financial downturn, and we continue to be concerned about the possible reductions in federal research funding and an investment downturn driven by global economic malaise,” said Randy Livingston, University vice president for business affairs and chief financial officer, to Stanford Report.

–  Alice Phillips