Investment Philosophy & Performance

The Community Foundation of Greater Memphis functions both as a fiduciary and a charitable organization. With approximately $290 million in charitable assets, we have a responsibility to manage those assets responsibly to ensure that we have resources to meet community needs for decades to come.

We offer four primary investment pools for charitable assets. Donors may recommend the pool that fits best with their charitable plans. Each pool is professionally managed with oversight provided by the Foundation's Investment Committee and investment consultant Gerber/Taylor Associates, Inc.

The Cash Equivalent Pool is a money market fund managed by Highland Capital Management Corp.
The Fixed Income Pool is an intermediate-term bond fund invested in primarily high-grade corporate bonds, U.S. Government and U.S. Government Agency bonds. The fund is managed by Metropolitan West Asset Management through the Metropolitan West Total Return Bond Fund, Pacific Investment Management Company through the PIMCO Short Term Fund and the PIMCO Total Return Fund, the Vanguard Short Term Bond Index Fund, and the Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund.
The Balanced Pool is invested in approximately 62 percent equities, 25 percent fixed income securities and cash equivalents, 10 percent alternative investments and 3 percent real estate securities.  

Sector Investment Managers/Funds  Target 
Fixed Income Highland Capital Management
PIMCO Total Return Fund
1607 Capital Bond Fund, LP
19.0%
 3.0%
  3.0%
Large Cap U.S. Equity Delta Asset Management
Lateef Investment Management
Longleaf Partners Fund
Vanguard 500 Index
Victory Capital Management
 6.0%
4.0%
6.0%
8.0%
7.5%
Small/Mid Cap U.S.  Advisory Research, Inc.
NewSouth Capital Management
 2.5%
2.5%
International Equity 

Diversified Trust Co. - International
Nippon Value Investors Japanese Equity Trust
Sanderson Asset Management International Value Fund

 3.0%
3.0%
6.0%
Emerging Markets  T. Rowe Price Institutional Emerging Markets Fund  1.0%
Hedged Equity  Barlow Partners Fund  12.5%
Alternative Investments  Forester Diversified, Ltd. (Multi-Strategy Hedge Fund of Funds)
SCS Opportunities Fund, Ltd. (Multi-Strategy Hedge Fund of Funds)
 5.0%
5.0%
Real Estate  ING Clarion - Clarion Lion Properties Fund, LLC  3.0%
* Multi-Strategy Hedge Fund of Funds may utilize a variety of strategies that consist of positions in marketable securities that in aggregate have little to no correlation to the traditional stock or bond markets. These strategies are designed to capture mispricings between securities of the same or different issuer(s) that may be directly or indirectly related. Strategies may include relative value, capital structure arbitrage, distressed, long/short equity and niche financing strategies. Multi-Strategy Hedge Fund of Funds aim to produce attractive return with low correlation to long-only equity and fixed income strategies.

Effective February 1, 2011, a change in managers was made within the alternative investments asset class. Private Advisors Stable Value Fund, Ltd. has been replaced with an equal allocation to two new investment funds: Forester Diversified, Ltd. and SCS Opportunities Fund, Ltd.


The Equity Pool is invested in approximately 49.5 percent large-cap U.S. equities, 9 percent small- and mid-cap U.S. equities, 21.5 percent international equities and 20 percent hedged equities.

Sector  Investment Managers/Funds  Target 
Large Cap U.S. Equity  Delta Asset Management
Lateef Investment Management
Longleaf Partners Fund
Vanguard 500 Index
Victory Capital Management
 9.0%
6.5%
9.0%
13.0%
12.0%
Small/Mid Cap Equity Advisory Research, Inc. 
NewSouth Capital Management
 4.5%
4.5%
International Equity 

Diversified Trust Co. - International
Nippon Value Investors Japanese Equity Trust
Sanderson Asset Management International Value Fund

4.5%
5.0%
9.5%
Emerging Markets  T. Rowe Price Institutional Emerging Markets Fund  2.5%
Hedged Equity Barlow Partners Fund   20.0%

Investment Returns - Periods ended March 31, 2012

Investment Pool Quarter Year To Date One Year Three Years Five Years Ten  Years
Cash Equivalent   0.1% 0.1%  0.5% 0.9%  2.0% 2.3%
Fixed Income * 1.5% 1.5% 4.5% 6.9%  1.5% 3.4%
Balanced  8.0% 8.0%  3.3% 15.1% 3.0% 5.7%
Equity  11.5% 11.5% 2.7% 20.9% 2.1%  5.8%
Market Indicies   
Salomon 3-Month Treasury Bills   0.0%  0.0%  0.1%  0.1%  1.1% 1.8%
Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index 0.3% 0.3% 7.7% 6.8%  6.3% 5.8%
Weighted Composite Index
(60% S&P 500; 40% Barclays Capital Intermediate U.S. Gov/Credit Index)
7.7% 7.7% 7.9% 16.5% 3.9% 4.9%
S&P 500  12.6% 12.6% 8.5% 23.4% 2.0% 4.1%
Note:  All returns are net of investment management fees.  Returns may not reflect the actual performance of individual funds. The multi-year returns are compounded annual returns.

*During the summer and fall of 2007, the performance in the Fixed Income Pool was negatively affected by significant losses in net asset value in the Regions Morgan Keegan Select Intermediate Bond Fund, which originally accounted for approximately 55% of the pool.  As a result of those losses, the Foundation’s investment committee reduced its position in that fund by 40% in August 2007 and completely liquidated the position on Nov. 15, 2007. The Fixed Income Pool no longer has any exposure to this fund. The Fixed Income Pool is the smallest of the Foundation's investment pools, amounting to approximately 1.5% of assets. No other investment pools or any other assets of the Foundation were affected by this investment.