Jones Library Trustees meeting this afternoon
The Jones Library is looking for a new investment manager for their endowment, currently valued at $7,666,247.48 and probably the $611,219.78 in the Woodbury Fund as well.
Chris Milne, President of New England Capital sent in a resignation letter the day after Christmas, but he will continue on as an "active manager" of the funds on a month-to-month basis until the Trustees hire a new firm, probably by April 1st.
NEC had actively manged the Jones Library endowment since 2009. Annual returns since then averaged 5.34%, but the Jones Library had set a benchmark goal of 8.77%, a hefty $250,000 per year difference.
Since "active manager" investment advisers underperformed 75% of the time compared to simply, safe, lower cost, "Index Fund" investments, the Trustees are considering making index based investing a cornerstone of any new management strategy.
The overall goal of the Jones Library Trustees is to ensure the endowment's annual return at least matches the amount withdrawn every year to support Library operations.
Dumb question, what is paid out of endowment or is it just for creating revenue?
ReplyDeleteIn the current year's $1.78 million Library operation budget the endowment kicked in $329,656, which is $43,123 less (11.6%) than the endowment kicked in last year/
ReplyDeleteCorrection: That was the town appropriation ($1.78 million). The total budget with endowment, state aid, fundraising, etc was $2,369,592.
ReplyDeletethe stock market has been cooking these past 3 years, so the endowment's growth looks weak.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the Library has reduced its draw on endowment to 4% annually, which is in keeping with prudent investment practices.
ReplyDeleteWe have more financial savvy on Library Trustees than usual at the moment, which is a good thing.