Investment Office
The ÎçÒ¹AV Investment Office provides professional support to the Investment Committee and understands the importance of its fiduciary duty to the University. The Investment Office partners with carefully chosen external asset managers who are hired to invest the endowed funds of the University. Investment Office staff evaluates and monitors these asset managers to ensure alignment with investment policy and philosophy.
LONG TERM INVESTMENTS
The Investment Office manages the donor-funded and Board-designated assets that make up the University’s endowment portfolio, donor assets contributed to the University that are governed by various life income agreements, and assets held in trust for the ÎçÒ¹AV University Employees’ Retirement Plan.
Long-term investments are managed to meet objectives for capital preservation and growth that are appropriate to the time horizon over which the assets are to be invested and the ultimate uses to which the assets are meant to be directed. These objectives are set by the Board of Trustees and are monitored and periodically amended in conjunction with input from the University’s investment staff and outside investment consultants. The University’s long-term investments are primarily composed of endowment assets but also include other assets invested separately for different purposes.
What is an endowment?
A university endowment is composed of many individual gift funds given by donors over time, usually to support scholarships, activities and research programs of the university. In other words, an endowment is not a working capital account for tuition dollars or a general operating account, but is comprised of restricted gift funds to be used strictly for the purpose set forth by the donor. The ÎçÒ¹AV endowment is a collection of over 15,000 individual funds.
Role of the endowment
The role of the endowment is to assist students’ ability to attend ÎçÒ¹AV by supporting scholarships and financial aid as well as academic programs, instruction, research, and faculty salaries. The endowment provides a permanent source of income to the University by supplementing the operating budget annually.
How is the endowment governed?
Authority over institutional investment pools such as endowments resides with the governing Board of Trustees, and oversight is further delegated to the Investment Committee. The Investment Committee is entrusted with the stewardship of donor gifts and is a fiduciary under the law, committing to exercise their fiduciary duty subject to the "Prudent Investor Rule". The Investment Committee is charged with establishing, reviewing and periodically updating investment policies and guidelines which inform the management of the University’s invested assets. The committee oversees the implementation of those investment policies. The investment policy is designed to provide a stable and predictable source of financial support that balances the needs of current students, future students and academic programs. The endowment is invested in a portfolio of financial assets with the objective to earn a return that exceeds the University’s spending rate plus inflation, within appropriate levels of risk and liquidity in order to provide the greatest possible financial support.
OPERATING ASSETS
Operating assets are managed in conjunction with Cash Management Services to ensure the University’s daily operational and working capital requirements are met throughout the academic year. Bank cash accounts and highly liquid short-term investment vehicles are employed to generate incremental returns above cash rates while protecting University capital.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Please click for the Staff Directory.
The ÎçÒ¹AV Investment Office provides professional support to the Investment Committee and understands the importance of its fiduciary duty to the University. The Investment Office partners with carefully chosen external asset managers who are hired to invest the endowed funds of the University. Investment Office staff evaluates and monitors these asset managers to ensure alignment with investment policy and philosophy.
LONG TERM INVESTMENTS
The Investment Office manages the donor-funded and Board-designated assets that make up the University’s endowment portfolio, donor assets contributed to the University that are governed by various life income agreements, and assets held in trust for the ÎçÒ¹AV University Employees’ Retirement Plan.
Long-term investments are managed to meet objectives for capital preservation and growth that are appropriate to the time horizon over which the assets are to be invested and the ultimate uses to which the assets are meant to be directed. These objectives are set by the Board of Trustees and are monitored and periodically amended in conjunction with input from the University’s investment staff and outside investment consultants. The University’s long-term investments are primarily composed of endowment assets but also include other assets invested separately for different purposes.
What is an endowment?
A university endowment is composed of many individual gift funds given by donors over time, usually to support scholarships, activities and research programs of the university. In other words, an endowment is not a working capital account for tuition dollars or a general operating account, but is comprised of restricted gift funds to be used strictly for the purpose set forth by the donor. The ÎçÒ¹AV endowment is a collection of over 15,000 individual funds.
Role of the endowment
The role of the endowment is to assist students’ ability to attend ÎçÒ¹AV by supporting scholarships and financial aid as well as academic programs, instruction, research, and faculty salaries. The endowment provides a permanent source of income to the University by supplementing the operating budget annually.
How is the endowment governed?
Authority over institutional investment pools such as endowments resides with the governing Board of Trustees, and oversight is further delegated to the Investment Committee. The Investment Committee is entrusted with the stewardship of donor gifts and is a fiduciary under the law, committing to exercise their fiduciary duty subject to the "Prudent Investor Rule". The Investment Committee is charged with establishing, reviewing and periodically updating investment policies and guidelines which inform the management of the University’s invested assets. The committee oversees the implementation of those investment policies. The investment policy is designed to provide a stable and predictable source of financial support that balances the needs of current students, future students and academic programs. The endowment is invested in a portfolio of financial assets with the objective to earn a return that exceeds the University’s spending rate plus inflation, within appropriate levels of risk and liquidity in order to provide the greatest possible financial support.
OPERATING ASSETS
Operating assets are managed in conjunction with Cash Management Services to ensure the University’s daily operational and working capital requirements are met throughout the academic year. Bank cash accounts and highly liquid short-term investment vehicles are employed to generate incremental returns above cash rates while protecting University capital.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Please click for the Staff Directory.