Our next run of Endowments 101 is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20 in OSH 175.  We’ve updated the material to include information about the donor endowment reporting project.  To register, click here.

If you have any questions, 

On April 10, 2009, Vice President Combe sent a memo to the Deans advising them that the Endowment Payout Rate for Fiscal Year 2010 will remain at 3%. A copy of the memo is posted to various FBS websites.  If you have any questions,

Financial and Business Services is pleased to offer colleges and departments updated instructions on the two methods for estimating the amount of endowment income expected during the next fiscal year.  The necessary factors for doing the calculations will be provided on either an annual or quarterly basis, depending on how often they change. 

Click here for updated detailed instructions.

Click here to register for Training taught in conjunction with the Endowments 101 Workshops.

This morning, January 9, 2009, Vice President Combe sent an email to the President, Vice Presidents, and Deans informing them that the December 31, 2008 endowment distribution would be reduced from 4% of the trailing 12 quarter average unit market value to 3%.  It is unknown at this time whether the spending rate would continue to be reduced beyond this distribution.  For planning purposes, you may wish to use 3% as an estimate in your projections for the coming fiscal year.  The impact of this reduced distribution will be visible on your December management reports. Click here to see a copy of Vice President Combe’s email.

In 1991, the University created the Endowment Investment Pool (Pool). At that time, the University’s Board to Trustees (Board) required that all subsequently established endowments must be invested in the Pool. For endowments in existence when the Pool was created, participation in the Pool was optional and departments had to request that their endowments participate in the Pool. The Board strongly encouraged departments to invest existing endowments in the pool, even if done so over a period of time. Currently, there are approximately 1,500 endowments and only about 25 are not invested in the Pool.

The unit market price of the Pool is believed to be near a low point in this market cycle. Therefore, now would be a great time to have those endowments which are not currently invested in the Pool to participate. All departments should review the Management Reports for their endowments (Activities in Funds 8500 and 8700). If they have amounts only in Claim on Cash (Account 10500) and Fund Balance (Account 30000), they should immediately request that those endowments be invested in the Pool.

Endowments not invested in the Pool are not growing in value, thus not protecting their purchasing power for the future. They are only receiving interest at an annual rate of approximately 2%. That rate has been lower and, in this market cycle, it possibly may go lower again. The Endowment Investment Pool has a 4% annual total return spending policy which enables more funds to be credited to the endowment’s expendable to use for the purposes of the endowment.

To invest these older endowments in the Endowment Investment Pool, please send your request to David Heaps, in General Accounting, at David.Heaps@admin.utah.edu.

Let’s get those endowments in the Pool and get them earning more and growing for your department!

The ending quarter endowment pool unit market value for September 30, 2008, is $187.62 per unit.  This information is necessary for Method 2 of projecting endowment income and is provided quarterly through FBS News.  All other factors in the instructions remain the same through the calendar year.  For detailed instructions on how to project endowment income, please refer to an earlier posting at: http://fbs.admin.utah.edu/index.php/2008/02/12/endowment-projections/.

Financial and Business Services is pleased to announce two training opportunities that were recently added to the roster.  Internal Controls workshop will be held on November 10, from 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.  This workshop is intended for business officers who are responsible for implementing internal controls in their areas and want to learn more about what contributes to an effective control environment.  Endowments 101 will be held on November 17, from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.  This workshop is intended for business officers and development professionals who would like to know more about endowments, endowment accounting, and current issues related to endowments.  An optional mini-session will follow for those interested in learning more about how to project endowment distribution income.  For information and registration, please go to the following website: 

http://fbs.admin.utah.edu/index.php/training/

Also, for your information, mini-workshops (we’re calling them “roadshows”) on both topics (internal controls and endowments) are available on-demand and are geared toward academic administrators such as deans, chairs, and faculty.  These can be requested by contacting Theresa Ashman.

The ending quarter endowment pool unit market value for June 30, 2008, is $208.16 per unit.  This information is necessary for Method 2 of projecting endowment income and is provided quarterly through FBS News.  All other factors in the instructions remain the same through the calendar year.  For detailed instructions on how to project endowment income, please refer to an earlier posting at: http://fbs.admin.utah.edu/index.php/2008/02/12/endowment-projections/.

Two new FORMS pages have been added to the FBS web presence.  This will enable visitors to have access to all the FBS forms in one place.  The forms are sorted alphabetically and by department.  A FORMS link on the top row of the FBS website has been added.  This will make it easy to find the form you need especially if you are not sure which department to look in for that form.  This is similar to the FORMS pages in the FBS pagelet in CIS.  On September 15, 2008, the FORMS links on the FBS pagelet will be changed to direct users to the new FBS FORMS pages.

The ending quarter endowment pool unit market value for March 31, 2008, is $211.56 per unit.  This information is necessary for Method 2 of projecting endowment income and is provided quarterly through FBS News.  All other factors in the instructions remain the same through the calendar year.  For detailed instructions on how to project endowment income, please refer to an earlier posting at: http://fbs.admin.utah.edu/index.php/2008/02/12/endowment-projections/.