UWire – The Washington State University Foundation’s Endowment is starting to snap back. Endowment funds like the WSU Foundation’s are essentially a large pool of money, usually donated by alumni, which is placed in an account with a high rate of return. The interest is then invested in the hopes of yielding money that can then be used for the benefit of the university.
The endowment money is allocated by an investment committee of seven people. The committee divvies the money up into eight different areas, which include hedge funds, U.S. equity and private equity.
WSU Foundation’s Endowment Fund increased by 5.8 percent from April 1 to June 30, tying off the 2009 fiscal year. The endowment increased another 3.4 percent in July. This fiscal year’s endowment totaled $261.5 million.
