Good fund raising and investments are the reasons for OSU’s strong endowment fund growth in the last 10 years.James A. Nichols, university treasurer, reported the figures to members of the Board of Trustees Investments Committee Friday.The endowment fund has been around since 1862. The fund exists primarily through donations from businesses and OSU alumni. Money from the fund is invested in stocks, bonds and real estate. In 1987, the OSU endowment fund market value was $247 million, and the 1998 fiscal year market value is currently $838 million, Nichols said. That is an increase of 239 percent, which is consistent with overall stock trends. Nichols reported that out of the $838 million that OSU invested in September, about $620 million was in equities, $151 million was fixed income, $51 million was in real estate and $16 million was cash. Nichols reported that the total amount for investments in October will be only about $811 million, which falls below the $838 million for September. However, Nichols said the October figures have not yet been confirmed.Some of this loss is because real estate investments have been down in the past month, Nichols said. In October, OSU sold two of its endowment properties, one at 1100 Kinnear Rd. and the Firestone property in Bath Township, which stirred up controversy because of environmental concerns. OSU did not gain or lose anything from the sale of the Firestone property, Nichols said.”I hope we have learned some kind of lesson from the Firestone sale,” said David L. Brennan, chair of the investments committee. “It is not something, in my opinion, we should ever do again.”The total endowment income distribution has also grown over the years, Nichols said. In fiscal year 1987, $10.2 million was distributed throughout Ohio State. For the 1998 fiscal year, about $32.3 million dollars has been distributed since September.