How We Manage Our Investments

Our Board of Trustees has ultimate responsibility to oversee the prudent investment of our assets. Our 15-member Board is composed of prominent community leaders with expertise in finance, law, business, education, the nonprofit sector and other fields that bring critical knowledge to the operations of the Community Foundation.

Our Investment Committee monitors our investment performance and activity regularly. This highly qualified group meets on a regular basis, generally monthly, and among its various responsibilities recommends fiscal policies to the Board including specific policies relating to the Foundation's investments. The Committee is staffed by the Foundation's CFO.

The Investment Committee meets quarterly with our Investment Consultant, Prime Buchholz & Associates (BPA). BPA provides quarterly reports and monitors the performance and investing style of our fund managers. BPA also assists the Investment Committee in researching new managers when the time comes to make a change or add an investment class.

Our Investment Managers make day-to-day decisions about the segment of our investment portfolio they manage in keeping with written investment guidelines signed by the manager. They buy and sell investments in a particular asset class and provide monthly financial reports to both FEG and the Foundation's staff.  Custodians execute financial transactions at the direction of the Investment Managers and provide monthly financial reports. They also move funds in and out of accounts as directed by the Community Foundation staff.

AAACF's Investment and Spending Policy specifies the long-range investment goals such as generating ample income to protect and grow principal while generating an annual "payout" to cover grants, fees and surpass inflation. The Policy also provides guidelines for asset allocation such as regular rebalancing and diversification to maintain a defined mix of certain asset classes (equities, fixed income, cash, etc.).