By Jerry Love, LBF Communications
ALEXANDRIA — The first meeting of the new year for the LBF Trustees was characterized by a full slate of information and items on which to take action. The meeting was held at the Louisiana Baptist Building Feb. 2. The morning was comprised of the Investment Committee meeting and the Operating Committee and following lunch the entire Board of Trustees met to consider committee reports and other business.
The Board welcomed 3 new members: Ron Fuqua of Effie, Philadelphia Baptist Church; Polly Brinker of Pineville, The Gathering Place; and Gevan Spinney of Haughton, pastor FBC Haughton and president of the LBC, serving ex officio.
Jim Prince, trustee from Lafayette, chaired the morning meeting of the Investment Committee with Barbara Bell, CPA and controller for the Foundation, reviewing the account holdings for the year ending 2015. She reported assets under management as of Dec. 31, 2015 were $164,366,725.40, a decrease of approximately $4.9 million from 2014. The decrease came primarily from market volatility in the third quarter of the year.
Investment returns for the major components of the LBF portfolio were reviewed by Prince who said returns as of Dec., 31, 2015 were:
Short Term Fund: 0.52% Annualized Yield
Fixed Income Fund: .73% Total Return
Equity Fund: -2.23% Total Return
The Group Investment Fund which is comprised of various market sectors reflected a -2.41% total return year to date. Prince noted the market losses in the 3rd quarter were helped by gains in the last quarter of the year, particularly in October.
The Investment Committee voted to create a new investment mix to offer to LBF clients. The new fund, called the Diversified Income Portfolio, provides a long term investment allocation with less risk and volatility than the Group Investment Fund.
Trustee John Carroll of Columbia chaired the operating committee and presented a review of the 2015 budget, sharing the year ended with a surplus of $13,761 which was directed toward the strategic reserve for the Short Term Fund.
Executive Director Wayne Taylor introduced several priorities for 2016 including funds for new accounting software and he announced a new promotional strategy called Give A Gift. Taylor indicated personnel changes in the near future plus new accounting system with enhanced service to clients require an increased revenue stream.
The committee then entered a lengthy discussion regarding fees charged on assets managed by the Louisiana Baptist Foundation noting the fees provide 65 percent of the operating revenue of the Foundation. After a protracted time of questions and comments the Operating Committee unanimously approved a motion to raise fees by 10 basis points (1/10th of 1 percent) on the market value funds. Fees on the Short Term Fund, which is used as a savings account by churches and entities across the state, are not affected by the increase.
The Committee also approved the upgrade of the Foundation’s Pooled Account System (PAS) which has been in use since 1998 and is not supported in its current state. The upgrade would allow the staff to continue using PAS until a transition can be made to a new system. That new accounting system, Stellar iPhi, was also approved and will be put into service in the near future.
The last item addressed by the Committee was the spending rate for endowment funds. The rate was increased from 2.25% of market value to 2.41% for the coming year. The increase in the rate will allow the beneficiaries of the endowment funds to receive approximately 3% more in actual dollars than in 2015.
At the conclusion of the Operating Committee, the Board of Trustees met led by Board President Julian Johnston of Calhoun. After reviewing information presented by the Investment and Operating Committees the Board approved each committee’s recommendations with little further discussion. No other new business was presented to the Board.
The Foundation was established in 1944 to encourage and assist individuals with gifts in support of Louisiana Baptist churches and ministries, as well as provide asset management for the churches and institutions affiliated with the LBC.
To learn more about the work and ministry of the Louisiana Baptist Foundation, to see a list of current Trustees or to review investment returns for the LBF managed funds, go to www.LBFinfo.org. The next scheduled meeting for the Louisiana Baptist Foundation Board of Trustees April 26.
