A fiduciary is anyone who has the legal responsibility of caring for someone else’s money. Foundation board members and investment committee members would generally be called fiduciaries, required by law to be well informed about the assets under their care and to follow a prudent process in caring for them. In this webinar, learn to... Read More
Are you talking with your board and investment advisors about asset allocation? Concepts to consider A number of concepts should be understood before you tackle the important work of creating an investment policy and allocating assets. Investment time horizon How long do you want your foundation to exist? Do you plan for your foundation to... Read More
A forum for investors to shape the progression of national and global issues, socially responsible investing (SRI) traces as far back as the 1700s, when the Quaker Philadelphia Yearly Meeting prohibited members from buying or selling into the slave trade. John Wesley, a founder of Methodism, preached against engaging industries that harmed one’s neighbor. The... Read More
By relying simply on stated fees, such as management fee or advisory fee, foundation trustees may be underestimating the full impact of the aggregate investment expenses because as there may be other components of investment costs that are not explicitly stated as fees. In the 1990s, when portfolio performance was beating the S&P 500, it... Read More
Program-related investments (PRIs) count toward a foundation’s distribution requirement as long as they meet the following criteria: They serve a charitable purpose—A PRI’s primary function must be to further the foundation’s charitable purpose. Income or appreciation of property is not a significant purpose—An investor solely interested in profit would not make an investment on the... Read More
Some foundations (along with other institutional investors, such as pension plans, sovereign wealth funds and endowments, and ultra-high-net-worth individual investors) are increasingly moving away from the traditional 60–40 asset allocation model, meaning 60% allocation to equities and 40% to fixed-income assets. Investors are moving away because, quite often in recent years, their return objectives have... Read More