Foundations|Endowments: Approach
Innovest works with fiduciaries to deliver prudent solutions to foundation and endowment clients. Our clients include educational, hospital, professional trade, cultural, religious and community service organizations, private foundations and charitable trusts.
• Steadfastly independent -
Our clients are not limited to platforms, investment products, or research. We are employee owned and promote an openness that allows us to search for the best and brightest in every discipline. We are constantly searching for optimal strategies that will improve client performance. Our experience tells us there is no quality “one stop shop” and we are committed to the “best of breed” philosophy.
• Focused client advocates -
We have the strength and expertise in the non-profit marketplace to secure custom solutions and negotiate
lower costs. There are a myriad of financial services firms and investment products. As a result, investment committees have difficulty objectively comparing various opportunities. We have terrific expertise in the fiduciary arena and help our clients through the fiduciary process. Our experience has led to a significant expert witness practice and fiduciary education programs.
• Only forward looking -
We must be proactive and forward focused in every aspect of our pursuit to increase returns while decreasing risks and costs. Marketing departments push past performance reinforcing the tendency of investors to chase performance, i.e. buy high and sell low. Our motivation is to identify unique strategies, talented managers and products with a sustainable edge in the future.
• Deep professional team -
Our clients are not hiring a name, they are hiring our people. Our team is comprised of complementary professionals who possess a unique combination of talent and integrity. Our people have backgrounds in money management, investment consulting, accounting, tax planning, estate planning, fiduciary consulting and financial planning. We use this expertise to be valuable partners with our clients trusted advisors. Our performance is powered by people.
• Absolutely fee-only -
We cannot build a true partnership with our clients if we accept compensation from managers and products. Serving two masters corrupts advice and the focus on improving investor performance would become secondary. 100% of Innovest revenue comes directly from our clients.
• Focus on spending and investment policies -
Our significant research and experience enables us to effectively coordinate and integrate spending and investment policies. Much like a general contractor, we help our clients manage the investment process to meet the goals of the organization. We understand the economic relationships between investments and through proper diversification cation techniques, can help investment committees navigate through rough market environments.
• Consistently applied monitoring -
Proper benchmarking is a crucial element in making ongoing decisions. At Innovest, we use custom, state of the art evaluation techniques to review the past, but also as a tool for the future. Without it, an investor is never in the position to properly evaluate performance and make appropriate adjustments. Improper benchmarking is often intentional and works to the advisor’s benefit and unfortunately, to the investor’s detriment.
As a founding supporter of the annual Rocky Mountain Endowment and Foundation Conference, we are recognized as experts in the field and at the same time share our expertise with fiduciaries in our community.
