Management and Investment Policy

Who manages the endowment? 

Under the College’s governing bylaws, responsibility for managing the endowment rests with the Board of Trustees. The Board has a legal fiduciary duty to see that the endowment is managed prudently, with maximum benefit for the College. The Board delegates ongoing oversight of the endowment to its Investment Committee, which reports regularly to the full Board.

In addition to trustees, the Investment Committee includes faculty, staff, and student representatives. 

Typically, day-to-day management of endowment assets is carried out by third-party investment managers selected by the Investment Committee.

How are investments chosen? 

Investment of the endowment is guided by an investment policy approved by the Board. Consistent with the investment policy, the Investment Committee makes ongoing decisions on the investment of endowment assets. 

An external investment management consulting firm (Mercer) supports the Investment Committee in setting and periodically adjusting investment policy, the selection of third-party investment managers, and investment implementation.

What is the endowment's investment policy? 

Investment of endowment assets is guided by an investment policy approved by the Board. The investment policy sets forth such things as: 

• Asset allocation: how endowment assets are apportioned among assets classes such as stocks, bonds, real assets, etc.
• Rate of return requirements: the minimum average rate of return the endowment must earn over time to enable its annual distrubutions to the College's budget to keep up with inflation.
• Risk tolerance: the acceptable degree of market-driven fluctuation in the endowment's value, taking into account the endowment's long-term time horizon and its rate of return requirement. 

A key aim of the investment policy is to fairly balance the College’s current needs with those of future generations.

The college also maintains financial reserves outside the endowment to meet both anticipated and unanticipated future cash needs.