Endowments & Foundations

SIA provides tailored investment management services for endowments and foundations. Our expertise transcends longer time horizon asset pools, such as endowments and pensions, to shorter-term pools that are focused on liquidity and/or an organization’s needs. We strive to understand each organization’s unique requirements and work closely with management teams, boards and finance/investment committees to develop a customized strategy for each organization’s asset pool needs.

Serving as fiduciaries, we are bound legally and ethically to act in our clients' best interests, with a duty to preserve good faith and trust. We are fee-only advisors and operate with complete transparency with no hidden fees or commissions.

SIA's Approach Includes:

SIA's Approach Includes:

  • serving in a discretionary investment advisory role.
  • developing or refining an Investment Policy Statement (IPS) that serves as a guide for evaluating and monitoring objectively the overall investment portfolio goals and the success in meeting these objectives. 
  • using an in-house proprietary research process to monitor and evaluate the performance of investment managers that are selected for the investment portfolio. This process has been refined for over 30 years and is led by an experienced investment research team.

SIA's Added Value

As an investment consultant, SIA establishes and retains each organization's trust by delivering the nine value-added deliverables outlined below:

1. Investment Management Approach

SIA employs a "manager of managers" approach by which we select multiple firms with whom to place client assets. These firms meet our rigorous investment research criteria.

2. Asset Allocation

SIA manages allocations to various asset classes such as stocks, bonds and money market investments based upon in-depth conversations with the organization regarding their financial situation, as well as risk tolerance and time horizon.

3. Asset Location

If there is more than one asset pool, SIA allocates assets into “buckets,” each with a specific objective and/or risk tolerance, ensuring a cohesive and comprehensive investment strategy.

4. Cost Effective Implementation

Because higher costs paid to investment managers equal less potential return for the organization's investments, annual expense ratios (fees) play a significant role in SIA's investment manager selection process.

5. Rebalancing

SIA makes value-added tactical trades while remaining within the constraints of the IPS after conducting regular rigorous oversight of the investment strategy.

6. Customized Reporting

SIA is uniquely capable of producing meaningful insights about financial markets and investment strategies to educate clients through timely in-person presentations and reports that outline performance, industry benchmarks & returns and holdings.

7. Withdrawal and
Savings Rates

SIA partners with the organization to establish strategies to maintain the balance between ensuring the longevity of the assets while meeting annual distribution needs.

8. Total Return Versus Income Investing

SIA looks for both components of total return – income plus capital appreciation. Focusing exclusively on one or the other can increase volatility and the potential for unexpected losses.

9. Behavioral Coaching

SIA provides objective guidance and ongoing education to help maintain perspective and stay committed to the organization’s long-term financial strategy.