Stanford Management Company (SMC) was established in 1991 as the University’s investment office to professionally manage the Merged Pool, which consists of a substantial majority of more than 9,000 individual endowed gifts and other financial assets.
SMC’s investment program is central to the University’s mission to advance teaching and research, and to make the University accessible and affordable. SMC’s investment strategies aim to achieve two primary goals: to provide material support for current University operations, including student financial aid, and to preserve the purchasing power of the Endowment so that current and future generations of students and scholars benefit equally.
SMC invests in accordance with the laws governing fiduciaries of charitable trusts, including the duties of care and loyalty, as well as in accordance with SMC’s Ethical Investment Framework.
The Merged Pool
SMC manages the $61.5 billion Merged Pool, which represents the substantial majority of Stanford’s investable assets. Endowment funds constitute approximately three-quarters of the Merged Pool. Other investment assets in the Merged Pool include reserves that Stanford elects to treat as long-term investment capital, as well as funds from Stanford’s two hospitals.
Stanford advocates a culture of exploration, innovation, and community. Our seven schools offer world-class faculty, academic excellence, and ground-breaking research for more than 17,000 full-time students. While tuition, federal grants, and research funding help sustain Stanford’s education and research mission, annual financial distributions from the Merged Pool serve as the single-largest source of funding in the University’s operating budget. For example, the Merged Pool will disburse more than $2.2 billion in Fiscal Year 2027 representing roughly one-fifth of the University’s total operating budget.
The Merged Pool is an essential resource for Stanford as it strives to advance human knowledge and ultimately benefit the local, national, and global community. Distributions from the Merged Pool touch nearly every part of the University on a daily basis by supporting faculty, research, student financial aid, and numerous other areas. This financial support funds work across a wide variety of disciplines, including the arts, humanities, sciences, engineering, sustainability, law, medicine, business, and education.
Our Results
Since SMC’s inception in 1991, the Merged Pool has generated impressive results, adding billions of dollars of value to the Endowment relative to the results of peers and a traditional passive portfolio of equities and bonds. For example, a hundred dollars invested into the Endowment at SMC’s inception has grown to more than five thousand dollars today. By comparison, the same hundred dollars invested into a benchmark portfolio of 70% stocks and 30% bonds would have grown to approximately thirteen-hundred dollars.
Investment Responsibility
SMC strives to ensure its management of the Endowment aligns with the University’s mission and values. Ethical considerations are incorporated in the evaluation of every investment’s suitability for the Merged Pool portfolio. SMC’s Ethical Investment Framework, approved by the University Board of Trustees in 2018, describes how ethical issues factor into the office’s investment decision-making. SMC’s work is further guided by the Trustee’s Statement on Investment Responsibility, first adopted more than 50 years ago, and amended periodically by the Board.
Stanford Management Company
635 Knight Way, Stanford, CA 94305
(650) 721-2200 | info@smc.stanford.edu