Services

Services

    Surpassing Peer and Benckmark Financial Success

We offer investment portfolio management services to assist the university in managing its endowment investments across various asset classes. With our modified endowment model we have been able to surpass all fund benchmarks and peer alpha. This includes setting investment objectives, creating an asset allocation strategy, monitoring investments, and making balance portfolio adjustments at every level as needed. See below for more details.

Superior Asset Class Consulting

• Most important, we select the right external fund manager for each asset class.
• We offer expertise to universities to develop a strategic financial plan that aligns with the institution’s goals, liquid needs and risk appetite.  We insure donations and endowments can be invested to optimize returns and support the university’s long-term objectives.
• Based on the university’s financial goals and risk tolerance, we would recommend an appropriate asset allocation strategy for their donations and endowments. This would involve diversifying the investments across different asset classes, such as stocks, bonds, real estate, and alternative investments.
• We conduct a thorough analysis of the current investment portfolio of the university’s donations and endowments. This would include evaluating the performance of existing investments, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and making recommendations for potential changes.
• We assist in selecting specific investments that align with the university’s strategy and objectives. They would also monitor the performance of these investments and make adjustments as needed to ensure they remain in line with the university’s goals.
• Donations and endowments are critical sources of funding for universities, and we help manage the associated risks. This could include implementing risk management strategies and contingency plans to protect the investments from market volatility and potential losses.
• We work closely with the university’s endowment committee to oversee and manage the endowment investments. This may include setting investment policies, developing spending policies, and ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
• We offer guidance and support to the university’s development team in engaging with donors and communicating how their donations are invested. This could help strengthen donor relationships and attract more donations.
• For large donations and endowments, we may provide estate planning services to help donors maximize the impact of their contributions while also providing tax benefits.
• We provide regular reports on the performance of the university’s donations and endowments, including investment returns and other relevant metrics. This would help the university evaluate the effectiveness of its investment strategy and make informed decisions for the future.

Social and Ethical Investments

This can include investments in:

• Socially responsible mutual funds: These are investment funds that select companies based on their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices.
• Impact investing: This involves investing in companies or organizations that have a clear social or environmental mission, such as renewable energy companies or affordable housing projects. renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, or healthcare.
• Community development financial institutions (CDFIs): These are organizations that provide financial services and investments to underserved communities, such as low-income and minority groups.
• Socially responsible funds: These are mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are managed according to specific environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. Examples include funds that avoid investing in companies involved in tobacco, weapons, or those with poor labor practices.

In contrast, investing in unethical or socially irresponsible companies can have negative consequences, such as supporting industries that harm the environment or violate human rights. This can include avoiding investments in industries such as tobacco, weapons, and fossil fuels.

Due Diligence

We perform extensive due diligence with hedge funds, mutual funds and other fund of funds to ensure that there are no connections to terrorist groups, money laundering, white collar crime or anti-American organizations within the fund. This involves thoroughly researching the fund and its investors to identify any potential risks and ensure that the fund is in compliance with all regulatory requirements. By conducting due diligence, we can mitigate any potential risks and ensure their investments align with their ethical and legal standards. The following activities are performed before recommending any fund or asset:

Using the following resources a thorough due diligence reviews the fund’s investment strategies, potential conflicts of interest, and possible money laundering or terrorist financing:

1.  Screening Databases – There are several databases that can be used to screen individuals and entities for potential connections to terrorism, white collar crime, money laundering or anti-American groups. These include:
   • US. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) https://www.fincen.gov/
   • World-Check: World-Check is a database maintained by Thomson Reuters that provides data on known or suspected terrorist individuals and organizations, politically exposed persons, and other high-risk entities.
   • Checking The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department database to make sure all affiliated investments are not list on the sanctions list https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov
   • Global Terrorism Database https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/
   • Terrorist Screening Center https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/terrorism/tsc
   • US Securities and Exchange Commission Edgar Database to check for any filing of affiliated investments with wrongful actors (Form 13F) https://www.sec.gov/edgar/search-and-access
2.  Open Source Information – Conducting research using publicly available information, such as news articles, social media, and online forums, can also help identify potential connections to terrorist or anti-American groups. This method can provide valuable insights and help to corroborate information gathered from other sources.

Additional Services

Faculty Training Seminars

Financial Training Seminars

Legal Seminars