UVa’s endowment continues growth for 3rd-straight month

The University of Virginia endowment pool turned in its third straight month of positive returns in May, helping push the balance higher than $4 billion for the first time in months.

A new report from the company that manages the UVa pool shows that the endowment investments grew by $154.3 million in May. That follows a return of $115.6 million in April and $78.3 million in March.

The gains follow general stock market trends in recent months.

Despite the recent improvement, UVa’s key investment pool, like those operated by most large universities, will turn in a substantial overall loss for the fiscal year ended June 30.

The pool value stood at $5.1 billion a year ago. The year-end report and June results are expected to be issued in about a month by the University of Virginia Investment Management Co.

UVa’s endowment provides about 5 percent of the university’s operating budget.