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Letter from the President
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
What an exciting time to be part of the USM Foundation. Several of our board members have been named to the USM Center for Academic Innovation's advisory board and will play a role in shaping its bright future. We also announced the promotion of Bill Wojcik to chief operating officer for the USM Foundation. He has been an exceptional member of the Foundation staff, and we are thrilled to have Bill leading our business services team with greater responsibilities. Additionally, our investment performance has been very strong, and you can read more about that in our message from Sam Gallo, Chief Investment Officer.
Last month, I was joined by several colleagues across the System at the CASE Leadership Summit in New York. I had the opportunity to facilitate a discussion on the challenges faced by university system officers, while my colleague, Anne Moultrie, vice chancellor of communications, led a panel on the challenges of branding and communications at the system level. It was wonderful to have an opportunity to discuss system-related matters with others who share the same challenges and experiences that we do. Chancellor Brit Kirwan joined us as well and served on a keynote panel discussing the future of higher education. His comments about keeping higher education accessible to first generation college students were universally praised.
As always, please contact me at raley@usmd.edu with any questions or comments. I hope you have a wonderful rest of the summer.
Sincerely,
Leonard R. Raley
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Investment Performance Through 6/30/14
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Endowment
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S&P 500
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Composite Benchmark
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80/20
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June 2014
| 1.5% | 2.1% | 1.5% | 1.7% | | CYTD 2014 | 4.8% |
7.1%
| 5.2% | 6.5% | |
FYTD 2014
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12.3%
| 24.6% |
15.2%
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20.4%
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3 Yr AACR
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6.6%
| 16.6% |
6.9%
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14.0%
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5 Yr AACR
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10.1 %
| 18.8% |
9.2%
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16.1%
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A Message from Sam Gallo, Chief Investment Officer
The USM Foundation is pleased to announce that its Endowment Fund earned a 12.3% return for the Fiscal Year 2014. The long-term return objective of this fund is to earn the Foundation's spending rate, the general rate of inflation for higher education institutions, and the internal costs of asset management services. During Fiscal Year 2014, this long term objective equated to 7.7% on average, and the Endowment exceeded its expectation by 460 basis points or 4.6%, respectively.
This outperformance relative to its target objective was achieved through a dynamic approach to portfolio management in both public and private market investments. Investments continue to be structured for balanced diversification across geographies, market sectors, investment strategies and liquidity profiles, all of which are targeted to meet or exceed the long-term return objective in a risk-conscious manner. The USM Foundation remains optimistic about market opportunities and that its approach to portfolio management will capture the upside potential of markets, while remaining defensively positioned to protect the portfolio from pockets of volatility and/or periods of market stress.
We are pleased with our 2014 Fiscal Year investment performance as it exceeded its targeted objective. We thank our dedicated Investment Committee for its tireless efforts and commitment in working with our team to achieve these positive results.
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Catherine J. Motz Joins the USM Board of Regents
 The University System of Maryland welcomed Catherine J. "Cassie" Motz, Esq., as a new member of the Board of Regents on July 2nd. Motz is the executive director of the CollegeBound Foundation, Inc., a Baltimore-based nonprofit organization that is dedicated to providing a college education for underserved students attending Baltimore City public high schools. Before joining the CollegeBound Foundation in January 2014, Motz was deputy chief of staff to Governor Martin O'Malley. She had also served as deputy legal counsel to Gov. O'Malley and as interim director of the Governor's Office for Children. Motz served in the O'Malley-Brown administration for seven years. Welcome, Catherine! |
University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law Receives $1 Million Gift from Alumnus
 The gift will fund the Fedder Scholars Program, the Fedder Environmental Law Lecture and Dinner, and the Environmental Law Program. The Scholars Program provides grants for Carey law students to participate in the annual International Union for Conservation of Nature Academy Colloquium. The Environmental Law Lecture and Dinner brings an outside scholar to the law school to discuss prominent environmental issues, and the Environmental Law Program will be able to recruit senior attorneys to continue the important work of protecting Maryland's environment.
The gift was pledged by alumnus Joel Fedder, JD, '58, and his wife, Ellen.
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August 2014
Vol. 8, Iss. 7
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Staff Member News
Bill Wojcik has been named as chief operating officer for the USM Foundation. Bill served as the Director of Business Operations for the USM Foundation since joining our team in June 2011. As COO, Bill will provide leadership and expertise to the USM Foundation and to affiliated foundations across the USM.
Congratulations, Bill!
Pam Purcell has been appointed to the CASE National Committee for Institutionally Related Foundations. Congratulations, Pam!
Sapna Varghese (Director of Advancement Research) welcomed a baby girl on July 25. Congratulations, Sapna and only the healthiest and happiest of wishes for your new baby girl!
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