Charitable Fund Management

Fees:

The Foundation may receive up to 1% of the average balance of the last three years of endowment fund which serves as the annual operating budget. This is consistent with industry practice and viewed as preferable to using only the most recent annual balance because it reduces the variability of the charges and creates less uncertainty for Foundation planning purposes.

Additionally, we pay prevailing investment fees to the funds that are selected by an investment consultant. Additional information is available by contacting the Executive Director of the Foundation at Dawn@foundationdor.org.

Investment strategy:

With respect to our investment philosophy and implementation, our goal is to provide a diversified portfolio designed to provide a steady total return over the fullness of time. Because our endowment is perpetual, meaning our investment time horizon is very long, we need to balance out risks, return opportunities, and fees to help drive a compounded return to benefit the Diocese and its many objectives.

Our investment goal is not to try and match or beat the S&P 500 or Dow Jones Industrial Average or other equity-focused indices. While we do have a significant portion of our portfolio allocated to U.S. stocks, we invest in other geographies and asset classes to smooth out returns over time. The reason we do that is that our operating budget is economically sensitive; if we invest 100% in stocks and our portfolio value falls in concert with stocks AND the economy weakens, our collections and other revenue sources tend to fall as well. Having a depleted investment portfolio as well as subdued revenue sources can limit the Diocesan outreach at a time when it is most needed.

Additionally, The Foundation adheres to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) principles for investing. The USCCB investment policies cover the following areas: protecting human life; promoting human dignity; reducing arms production; pursuing economic justice; protecting the environment and encouraging corporate responsibility.

While no one ever knows what will happen tomorrow, by investing in a broader set of asset classes and geographies, we look to produce a less volatile total return that navigates both up and down markets. Experiencing large up moves in the portfolio is great, but enduring large drawdowns can be paralyzing.

Our philosophy is in concert with most university and charitable endowments, and if we can provide more specifics or you would like to have a discussion please reach out to Dawn@foundationdor.org.