The Princeton Area Community Foundation - Investing Our Assets
The Princeton Area Community Foundation's charitable assets held for long-term grantmaking are invested in The Managed Investment Pool — a pool of investments created specifically for the Community Foundation. The Investment Committee monitors the Pool’s performance on a quarterly basis and oversees the Community Foundation's investment policy.
Description and Investment Objective
The Managed Investment Pool has a long-term time horizon and is structured with the objective of achieving returns greater than the combined total of the Community Foundation's spending policy, administrative costs and inflation. All of the investment management firms are nationally renowned. The guiding philosophy of the Pool's management at all times is to promote the prudent stewardship of funds entrusted to the Community Foundation for the benefit of the community of donors and charitable organizations we serve.
Total Return Investment Philosophy
The Community Foundation uses a total return approach to investment management under the Uniform Management of Institutional Funds Act. Total return is a term used to describe the change in fund value over a given time period resulting from both interest, dividends, and capital appreciation (realized and unrealized gains).
Investment Performance
Shown below is the historical performance of the Managed Investment Pool as of December 31, 2008
All returns are reported net of investment management fees:
| 1 Year | 3 Year Annualized | 5 Year Annualized | |
| Total Fund | -20.54% | .045% | 4.21% |
| S&P 500 | -37.00% | -8.36% | -2.19% |
| Barclay's Aggregate | 5.24% | 5.51% | 4.65% |
| MSCI AC World Index | -43.54% | -9.74% | -1.94% |
| Blended Benchmark | -31.35% | -5.93% | -0.29% |
Past performance is no guarantee of future results
Investment Strategy and Structure
The Managed Investment Pool is broadly diversified across asset classes and investment styles in order to enhance investment results in all market environments.
An important part of the Community Foundation's portfolio is its diversification which includes domestic and international stocks and bonds and alternative assets (real estate & private equity). As central New Jersey’s community foundation, we invest for the long-term. The Community Foundation’s Investment Committee reviews the portfolio’s asset allocation and the investment performance of each manager on a quarterly basis.
| Asset Class | Range |
| Domestic Equity | 25 to 35% |
| International Developed Markets Equity | 5 to 15% |
| International Emerging Markets Equity | 5 to 15% |
| Independent Return | 20 to 30% |
| Fixed Income | 20 to 30% |
Fees
- Investment management fees for the Managed Investment Pool are roughly 0.55% per year paid to external managers. The Community Foundation takes no fee for investment management.
- Each charitable fund within the Pool pays its pro rata share.
- If you have questions about the investment program, please contact our Executive Vice President, Ralph Serpe at rserpe@pacf.org.
Charitable assets held for short-term grantmaking (less than two years) are invested in the Community Foundation's Money Market Pool. Fees are approximately 0.22% per year: and each charitable fund within the Pool pays its pro rata share.