Foundation Investment Philosophy

Operational guidelines and investment philosophy are articulated in the Board approved Investment Policy Statement. This investment philosophy is dependent on the type of assets: current, deferred or endowed.

CURRENT

Current assets are invested in a short-term program to produce the highest possible return with low risk. The Foundation’s approach emphasizes preservation of capital. Current assets are available to be spent by the University on demand.

DEFERRED

Deferred assets are managed individually, rather than pooled, because each is unique in terms of payout rate and investment horizon. An individual account is established for each trust and administered by an outside manager. This strategy allows a variety of asset allocation options to be utilized to better satisfy donor needs.

ENDOWED

Endowed assets are managed in perpetuity. Our goal is to invest in a manner that maximizes returns with a prudent level of risk. Since equities have the highest, long-term expected rate of return, the Foundation takes a strong equity-like bias in asset allocation.

Distributions from the endowment are based on the Foundation’s spending policy, currently at 4%. Approved by the Board, this policy is designed to provide a relatively stable quarterly revenue stream to the University, while maintaining the purchasing power of the endowment over time.