Trustees to review investment managers

The IU board of trustees' Finance and Audit Committee will meet today in Indianapolis for its annual review of the investment managers entrusted with IU funds and money derived from IU tuition. The meeting will follow the new investment policy, approved by the trustees on June 27.\nThe new policy was based on recommendations of the committee.\nAccording to a memorandum sent to the Finance and Audit Committee trustees by Vice President and Chief Financial Adviser Judith Palmer, "This policy prescribes both the substance and the process associated with all investment management activities." \nTreasurer Steven Miller said the meeting is to provide the committee the opportunity to meet with the firms that invest IU's operating reserves. Miller added that this was a routine meeting that occurs annually.\n"The IU investment policy provides that each manager must review its performance and strategy with the trustees once each year," he said.\nFour of the investment managers deal with large amounts of IU's money derived from tuition. \n"They all manage about $100 million each," said Trustee and Committee Chair Steven Backer.\nThe four firms which deal with this are Commonfund, Merganser, Western Asset and Reams Asset. Commonfund is a large money market fund, while the others are investment companies, operating out of several different regions of the country, like Boston and Pasadena, Calif. The fifth manager deals with IU Foundation funds. \n"Each manager has a different style of investment," Backer said.\nThe trustees' investment strategy is quite different from the IU Foundation, Backer said. He explained that the IU Foundation receives its money from donors. The money can be put into long term investments like stocks.\n"These investment managers invest strictly in high-quality fixed-income securities," Miller said. \nBacker explained that unlike the IU Foundation, these are liquid funds, which come in twice a year from each semester's tuition.\n"If we need to draw down on it, we can get to it immediately," he said. "It's like a savings account."\nThe purpose for the routine meeting is to review the performance of these investment managers. \nBacker stressed the importance of these annual routine performance reviews. \n"We have an obligation since it's not our money," Backer said. \nThe trustees on the Finance and Audit Committee are trustees Backer, Jamie Belanger, Patrick Shoulders and Sue Talbot. They will meet on the IU-Purdue University-Indianapolis campus in Room 222 of the University Place Conference Center. Shoulders said he would not be able to attend. \n-- Contact staff writer James E. Klaunig Jr. at jklaunig@indiana.edu.