Financial markets battered the University of Michigan's endowment in 2009, but its returns have been higher than most institutions over the last decade, officials announced Thursday at the monthly U-M Board of Regents meeting, held at the Flint campus.

The report of investments released this week shows the endowment was valued at $6 billion at the end of June, down 20 percent from $7.6 billion in June 2008, when it hit its peak. The university's fiscal year begins July 1.

The endowment is a collection of 7,000 separate funds, each donated to a specific area of support, such as professorships, educational programs or scholarships. Donated funds aren't spent, but are invested to provide annual payouts.

Regent Katherine White, chair of the finance committee, said despite the recent banking crisis, the average annual return on U-M's endowment has been 9 percent for the last decade, higher than most universities.

"The average university endowment returned 4.2 percent," White said. "If it had performed at that average level, our endowment would be $2 billion lower."

Officials focused on the last decade to tout success of the U-M investment office, created in 1999. U-M created a position for a chief investment officer and hired Erik Lundberg for the job, reporting to the executive vice president and chief financial officer.

Today, the university maintains top bond ratings from Standard & Poor's (AAA) and Moody's Investor Services (Aaa), indicating its strong financial health and outlook, officials say.

Juliana Keeping covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528. Follow Juliana Keeping on Twitter