Financials

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Financial Overview

The SIU Foundation takes its stewardship responsibility very seriously.  Our Board of Directors oversees financial and investment operations.

  • The Finance Committee plans and oversees the annual independent audit.
  • The Investment Committee formulates the investment policy, interprets that policy to the Foundation’s investment managers, and oversees implementation of that policy.

The Foundation utilizes Sikich LLP as its independent auditing firm and Fund Evaluation Group (FEG) as its investment consultant. For more information, see Reports.

Investment Overview

The SIU Foundation Board of Directors has, through its Investment Committee, adopted two investment policy statements:

(1) Endowment Statement relates to contributions with long-term benefit objectives, those monies set aside and designated by the Board as quasi-endowments or term endowments, and gift annuities.

(2) Unrestricted Statement relates to contributions in the form of non-endowed funds.

The Endowment/Annuity Pool is managed according to the State of Illinois’ Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA), and, in a manner consistent with the investment objectives stated below.

Endowment statements establish written policies and procedures for the investment of the Foundation’s assets, ensuring that future growth is sufficient to offset normal inflation plus reasonable spending. This process thereby preserves the constant dollar value and purchasing power of the endowment for future generations of students, faculty, and staff. Spending will be determined by the Endowment Distribution Policy, established by the Executive Committee of the SIU Foundation Board of Directors.

The Endowment Distribution Policy provides for annual distributions based upon a formula approved by the Foundation’s Executive Committee.

While shorter-term investment results will be monitored, adherence to a sound investment policy, which balances short-term spending needs with preservation of the “real” (inflation-adjusted) value of assets, is crucial to the long-term success of the Unrestricted/Restricted Pool.

The objectives of both the Endowment/Annuity and the Unrestricted/Restricted Pools shall be defined as follows:

  • Absolute – measured in real (net of inflation) rate-of-return terms and shall have the longest time horizon for measurement;
  • Relative – measured as time-weighted rates of return verses capital market indices;
  • Comparative – measured as the performance of the investment managers compared with a universe of similar managed funds. These objectives shall be measured over a full market cycle (generally defined as a three- to five-year period), without exceeding a standard deviation of 1.2 times a weighted benchmark index.

The relative objective of both pools is to seek competitive investments performance versus appropriate capital market measures.

Asset Allocation

Investment Performance

Investment Performance Detail