By Lewis Gaines
LVJF Investment Chair
Our June 2023 YTD return of 11.5% was dramatically higher than the Moderate Allocation Index benchmark return of 6.9%. Our portfolio has outperformed for more than 10 years in both up and down markets. Since 2019, our low-cost, S&P focused index strategy has generated investment gains of $13.3 million which are $5.6 million higher than the average similar-risk fund. As of June 2023, Foundation assets totaled about $40 million, of which $17 million was invested on behalf of community agencies.
The endowment’s long-term returns not only greatly exceed our benchmark, but are also substantially above the returns of most small and large endowments. In the context of expected long-term returns of 8 to 9%, the demonstrated multiple-year return differences of 190 to 470 basis points are highly significant and have led to the $5.6 million in outperformance versus the average moderate-risk fund.
Our outperformance resulted from:
Goldman and the investment committee continue to monitor our portfolio closely. We both believe that the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley is well positioned to continue with better than average returns.