All CFOs are taught that past performance is not an indication of future performance. Performance data is only part of how investment consultants evaluate money managers — and they use it with caution.
Smart Money: Seeing through rates
By
William C. Fisher
Feb 01, 2012
Rates of return are often used as a benchmark for investment performance. As Joan Dixon, CFO of Morningside Ministries in San Antonio, TX, says, “performance reporting can at times be very confusing....
Smart Money: Diversify with caution
By
William C. Fisher
Jun 05, 2012
Harvard’s endowment has been famous for investing to generate enormous gains. From 1990 to 2005, the investment returns averaged 15% per year, growing the assets from almost $5 billion to almost...
Smart money: How to gauge success
By
William C. Fisher
Dec 01, 2011
President, Investment Advisory Group LLC
Bad news, good ideas
By
William C. Fisher
Oct 01, 2013
There is bad news about nonprofit investment returns. Organizations made changes to their asset allocation policies in 2012 that reduced returns. It is thought such changes were a reaction to market trends...
Smart Money: Spooked by the news?
By
William C. Fisher
Sep 01, 2011
The financial headlines show the ugly economic data pouring in like a fast flowing river. First-quarter GDP numbers exhibited a measly 1.8% increase and second-quarter estimates weren’t much better.
Re-visit the IPS
By
William C. Fisher
May 01, 2013
The primary document governing investment decision making by fiduciaries is the investment policy statement (IPS). The fiduciaries are the board and finance committee members, as well as senior management.
HUD 202: Big changes
By
William C. Fisher
Feb 02, 2013
The HUD 202 program had a major policy change in 2012 that will permit numerous not-for-profit providers to take capital from their existing HUD 202 properties, deploy this capital for a wide range of...
Smart money: Still spooked? (Part II)
By
William C. Fisher
Nov 01, 2011
By William C. Fisher, President, Investment Advisory Group LLC
Invest aggressively
By
William C. Fisher
Aug 01, 2012
Last month, I wrote about three potential conflicts that might arise when ministries, nonprofits and companies work with investments. One of my goals is to help CFOs, boards and finance committees become...