Eastern Michigan University's Endowmenthas grown from about $36 million in 2009 to about $64 million currently, the largest endowment in the school's history.
Last year's return on investment was over 15-percent and they have averaged annual returns of over eight percent over the last 20 years.
Laura Wilbanks is the Chief Financial Officer of the EMU foundation. Wilbanks says in the last few years they've limited the costs and percentage of endowment spent annually on scholarships and other gifts. She says the actual dollars spent from the endowment however can increase as the endowment grows.
Wilbanks says the strong investment return is a result of aggressive investments in the stock market, limited exposure to alternative investments and being dilligent on rebalancing the portfolio.
EMU also successfully completed the Invest, Inspire Fundraising campaign a few years ago.
— Andrew Cluley is a reporter and anchor for 89.1 WEMU News. Contact him at 734.487.3363 or email him aCluley@emich.edu.
