The investment policy statement (IPS) serves as a strategic guide to the planning and implementation of an investment program. It can serve as an important policy guide offering an objective course of action to be followed during periods of market disruption when emotional responses might otherwise motivate less prudent actions. This document provides sample elements of an effective IPS.
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Elements of a Clearly Defined Investment Policy Statement for Non-Profits
Greg Coffey, Lila Han (Russell Investments)
Today’s increasingly complex investment landscape places greater pressure on the fiduciaries overseeing the investment pools of endowments, foundations and healthcare organizations. Fiduciaries are not only reexamining their current investment decision-making practices, but also seeking to ensure that those practices allow for enough flexibility in implementation to maximize the likelihood of investment success. Recognizing the increasing importance of the investment portfolio success to the needs of the broader organization, more fiduciaries are taking a holistic view, spending as much time on issues such as total enterprise risk management, good governance practices an spending policy as on asset allocation and investment strategy. Central to communicating the investment philosophy and decisions informed by this view is a clearly articulated investment policy statement, which serves as the foundation of an integrated and aligned oversight process.
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Investment Policy: Bridle of Want
Richard M. Ennis
Investors desire return, but successful investment requires more than the desire; it needs an investment policy grounded in investor capacities to bear risk, to hold illiquid assets, and to exploit security mispricing.
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A Roadmap for the Roadmap
Simon Krinsky, Kathryn Hall (Hall Capital)
An institution’s or wealthy family’s mission, objectives, constraints, and governance structure will dictate a distinctive roadmap articulated in the form of the Investment Policy Statement (IPS). Ultimately, the IPS is a living, flexible document that should be reviewed annually and updated over time to reflect the current posture and forward-looking aspirations.
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Adaptive Investing: A responsive approach to managing retirement assets
Sam Pittman, Rod Greenshields (Russell Investments)
Retirees consistently express three primary needs concerning retirement wealth management: they want low risk of outliving their assets (sustainability), consistent income (predictability), and financial flexibility (liquidity). The authors believe conversations should shift from performance based on return and beating benchmarks to managing successful outcomes using the ‘funded ratio’ to inform asset allocation decisions.
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