NEW YORK: Stanford University’s pool of investment assets returned 40% in the fiscal year ended June 30, joining an array of colleges with blockbuster investment results.

       Stanford’s endowment is part of a larger group of funds valued at US$42bil (RM174.2bil) and includes the capital reserves of Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, the school said in an emailed statement.

       The value of the endowment alone, which includes about 75% of that pool and other assets including real estate, rose to US$38bil (RM157.6bil) as of Aug 31, the end of the university’s fiscal year.

       The outsized gain spurred the university to set aside an additional US$500mil (RM2.07bil) from the endowment for use to bolster Stanford’s academics, research, affordability and inclusion and outreach activities, president Marc Tessier-Lavigne said in the statement.

       “These results have created a tremendous opportunity to advance Stanford’s mission,” he said. — Bloomberg