ENDOWMENT REPORT2022-2023
Dear Trinity University supporters and friends,
A
s we reflect on another successful fiscal year, it is an honor to present Trinity’s annual Endowment Report. The endowment and its areas of support represent a testament to your unwavering commitment to Trinity’s educational mission, its students, and the enduring legacy of our beloved institution. This annual report provides a snapshot of the endowment’s investment statistics, including investment allocation, portfolio performance, and endowed designations, and it celebrates the transformative impact of your generous support of Trinity. Through generations of charitable contributions from you and other University donors as well as steadfast, long-term stewardship of the endowment, endowed support continues to grow across a diverse set of programs and initiatives that permeate and shape campus. These programs and areas of support span the breadth of the University’s academic, research, athletics, space-making, and campus life which, in turn, shape the minds of the next generation of leaders, innovators, and global citizens, ultimately setting the stage for a brighter, more promising future. Across the University’s academic departments, Trinity has continued its commitment to excellence. Your contributions have expanded scholarship programs, ensuring talented students from diverse backgrounds have access to a Trinity education; invested in undergraduate research initiatives; supported pioneering faculty endeavors; and fostered an environment of intellectual curiosity that truly distinguishes Trinity University. Beyond academics, our campus continues evolving to meet the educational demands of the future. Your support has funded infrastructure improvements, created state-of-the-art facilities, and helped shape an inclusive, vibrant community that is the heart of Trinity’s liberal arts education. We express heartfelt gratitude to you and all of our esteemed donors who have made these transformative endeavors possible. The dedication and generosity of the Trinity community underscores the value of a Trinity education and the importance of investing in future generations of Tigers to come. With deep appreciation,
Craig Crow Chief Investment Officer
Michael Bacon ’89 Vice President for Alumni Relations and Development
T R IN I T Y U N I V E R SI T Y E N DOWM E N T
At A Glance 2022-2023
$1.664 billion Value of endowment
40.0%
Percentage of Trinity’s operating budget supported by the endowment
$68.1 million
Distributed from the endowment to Trinity’s operating budget
$9.1 million
New gifts made to the endowment in FY2023
4.5% 1
Endowment spending policy rate
635
Number of individual endowed funds Data above as of May 31, 2023
8.2%
1-year annual return*
+9.1%
10-year annualized return*
1. Approximately 51% of endowments in the Cambridge Associates FY22 College and University Spending Policies and Practices survey reported a target spending rate ranging between 4-4.99%. n=174. * Long-Term Investment Pool and directly held asset performance, net of fees, as of June 30, 2023
Trinity University’s Endowment Portfolio Overview The endowment value decreased by a net $48.8 million in FY2023. Investment returns contributed $12.8 million across the Long-Term Investment Pool (LTIP) and Funds Held-In-Trust (FHIT) portfolios, with $9.1 million provided through gifts and other additions and a total of $77.9 million distributed to the University for both the operating budget and non-operating activities.
Beginning Value
$ 1,712.6
Gains and Income
$
12.8
Net Endowment Gifts2
$
9.1
Other Transfers
$
7.1
University Distributions
$
(77.9)
Ending Value
$ 1,663.7
2. $9.1 is calculated from $6.4 in FY2023 outright gifts plus $2.7 increase in receivables
(in millions, data as of May 31, 2023)
$1,800
$1,725
$1,713
2021
2022
$1,664
$1,600 $1,400
$1,239
$1,200 $1,000
$1,150 $959
$1,108
2013
2014
$1,328
$1,287 $1,279
$1,068
$800 $600 $400 $200
$ in millions
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2023
Long-Term Investment Pool (LTIP) – Managed by Trinity’s investment committee and internal staff Funds Held-In-Trust (FHIT) – Managed by third parties on behalf of Trinity
Source: Trinity University audited financial statements, as of May 31, 2023
Portfolio Value Growth Over Time 2013-2023
Total Portfolio Value
Compound Annual Returns The long-term financial objective of the Long-Term Investment Pool is to provide a stable and consistent level of ongoing support for the University’s operations while maintaining and enhancing the real purchasing power of the endowment fund in perpetuity. This chart illustrates annualized returns over trailing periods within the past 10 years. Due to volatile markets, returns for the June 30 year-end improved markedly to 8.2% versus the fiscal year-end May 31 trailing 1-year timeframe.
15%
13.6% 10%
8.2%
9.2%
9.1%
5 Years
10 Years
5%
0%
1 Year
3 Years
Trinity Investment Returns (net of fees) Performance data as of June 30, 2023, and includes LTIP and directly held asset performance
Long-Term Investment Pool Asset Allocation Trinity’s Long-Term Investment Pool (LTIP) consists of assets managed by the Office of Investments (a team of six investment and operations professionals) and is governed by Trinity’s Investments Committee (a committee of the Board of Trustees). To support the in-perpetuity status of the endowment, the University’s LTIP asset allocation strategy captures endowment growth through investments in a variety of asset classes across global financial markets. The LTIP has a diversified asset base with active investments in 75 external investment managers.
Asset allocation, diversification, and manager selection are all critical to driving long-term endowment returns and managing volatility through different economic cycles. Trinity’s investment strategy is designed to ensure the endowment is positioned for strong, long-term risk-adjusted results, and Trinity seeks to partner with the best investment managers in each asset class. Trinity has been building the Private Investments allocation over time due to better relative long-term return opportunities.
100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Asset Allocation (%)
2003
2005
2007
Fixed Income and Cash
2009
2011
Private Investments
Distributions The endowment is key to supporting Trinity’s educational mission In FY2023, Trinity’s endowment distributed $77.9 million to the University. Of that amount, a net $68.1 million went to the operating budget, representing 40.0% of total operating revenues. This support has increased over time—as an example, in 2013, Trinity’s endowment supported 28% of the operating budget and has since steadily expanded. This growing support over time has bridged the gap between the cost to deliver a Trinity education and the amount students pay to attend the University, allowing Trinity to offer all the benefits of a leading liberal arts education. Funds from the endowment, in the form of annual cash distributions, play a significant role in the operating budget for the University. As the second largest financial resource for the University operating budget—behind student tuition and fees—the endowment is key in supporting Trinity’s educational mission. The amount of support the endowment provides to the operating budget is double the average of private colleges and universities, which in turn is markedly higher than that of public universities.
2013
2015
Hedge Funds
2017 Non-U.S. Equity
2019
2021
2023
U.S. Equity
40.0% 35.0%
40.0%
30.0% 25.0% 20.0%
19.8%
15.0% 10.0% 5.0%
4.8%
0.0% Endowment Support of Operating Budget
Trinity University
Private College & University Average
Public College & University Average
Cambridge Associates’ FY22 Spending Policies and Practices Report; 80 private colleges and universities included in data set.
Campus Impact The Long-Term Investment Pool consists of 635 individual endowed funds. Approximately 59% of endowed funds constitute temporary and permanently restricted endowments, which are gifts restricted by donors to provide long-term funding for designated purposes. The remaining funds represent unrestricted endowments, which can include quasi-endowments (money that
the Board of Trustees designates for key University purposes and treats as endowments). Both of these classifications are governed by the University spending policy and actively contribute to Trinity’s operating budget. The 635 endowment funds are broadly categorized and support many areas across campus.
SCHOLARSHIP 325 funds || $263 million
GENERAL 186 funds || $708 million
The largest number of endowment funds supports undergraduate and graduate scholarships.
The endowment supports University expenses, such as recruiting and retaining exceptional faculty and funding undergraduate research.
LIBRARY 20 funds || $12 million
LOANS 8 funds || $55 million The endowment supports a loan fund program for student financial aid and academic support.
These endowment funds provide support for the Coates Library’s collection and resources.
Supporting Student Scholarships The University increased annual financial support for Trinity students by providing nearly $75 million of scholarships and financial aid in FY2023, of which $63 million (83%) was defined as ‘unfunded’ aid—not endowed through scholarship funds. While 16 new endowment funds dedicated to student scholarships were added in FY2023, unfunded aid has continued
to increase markedly over the last 15 years to fund growing student need. With such a high balance of current financial support generated from unfunded aid, Trinity is committed to raising endowed scholarships to continue to build a permanent foundation for sustained access to a Trinity education.
$80M
$74,751 $68,376
Scholarships and Student Aid Support
$63,036 $60M
$51,200 $43,200 $38,300
$40M
$25,206 $20M
$0 2009
2013
2015
2017
Endowment Funds Supporting Scholarships and Student Aid
2019
2021
2023
Non-Endowed Scholarships and Student Aid
Total Scholarships and Student Aid ($)
Long-Term Investment Pool Funds Unrestricted: $524 million No donor restrictions but may contain designation by Trustees for an endowment Restricted: $746 million Includes temporary and permanently restricted donor funds Total: $1.27 billion
BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS 32 funds || $92 million
FACULTY SUPPORT 64 funds || $139 million
Funds from endowments support buildings on campus as well as the care of Miller Fountain.
Endowment funds support endowed professorships, lectureships, faculty development, and more.
Donor Spotlight The Walls Family Scholarship Challenge Paves the Way for First-Generation Tigers In early 2022, Trustee Emerita Lissa Walls Cribb ’80 established the Walls Scholarship Challenge to support Trinity’s first-generation students. To inspire others to create endowed scholarships for these students, she designated $1 million in matching funds. To date, 15 donors have established 17 separate scholarships through the Walls Scholarship Challenge to support the education of Trinity’s firstgeneration students.
Familia Balreira participated in the Walls Scholarship Challenge with excitement and joy—we both had ‘nontraditional’ college experiences as undergraduate transfer students who faced life-changing financial decisions during our college careers, and we simply could not have obtained our undergraduate degrees without significant donor support. Taking the Walls Challenge was just one way we felt we could pass it on.” – Jeanna ’08 and Cabral Balreira Jeanna is Trinity’s assistant vice president for Strategic Communications and Marketing, and Cabral is a professor and chair of the Department of Mathematics at Trinity. Familia Balreira Endowed Scholarship Fund, established through the Walls Scholarship Challenge
Student Spotlight Robert Furuya ’24 Recipient of the Semmes Distinguished Scholars in Science Scholarship and Carolyn Calvert Endowed Music Scholarship Robert Furuya ’24 is just as masterful composing new music on the keys of one of Trinity’s Steinway pianos as he is machining with a Haas Mini Mill CNC router in Trinity’s Makerspace. Furuya double majors in music composition and engineering science, and his STEM-focused Semmes scholarship provides full tuition as well as a $5,000 stipend for research support, professional travel, materials, and supplies. “What Trinity has allowed me to do with these two majors is a pretty unique thing,” says Furuya, who also finds time for a math minor. “I haven’t seen a lot of other schools where you can do both.” In engineering science, he has worked on projects such as an autonomous planetary rover. Furuya also plays piano, performs in solo recitals and in Trinity’s Handbell Ensemble, and writes music for various types of ensembles.
Seeing your music brought to life by live performers is an amazing experience.” “In June 2023, I went to Italy for a premiere of my composition in the Alba Music Festival, which was actually funded in part by another music scholarship—the Calvert scholarship— and I attended a sound and music computing conference in Stockholm with help from the Semmes stipend,” Furuya says. “Seeing your music brought to life by live performers is an amazing experience.”
Endowment Supports Experiential Learning Curriculum This year marks the 25th anniversary of Trinity’s Student Managed Fund (SMF), which gives select Trinity students the opportunity to manage a multi-million dollar portion of endowment assets, bridging the gap between finance theory and real-world application with a handson approach to investment management. The SMF classes’ advanced curriculum includes both portfolio construction and in-depth equity research, where students measure returns and attribution based on asset allocation and stock selection. The investment approach has evolved into a fully invested portfolio with the foundation of core, passive exchangetraded funds complemented by a smaller, actively managed satellite portfolio of stock holdings. This past October, Trinity hosted an investments-focused panel (pictured) along with various SMF anniversary events during Alumni Weekend, connecting students with alumni in diverse financeadjacent roles. Coming soon, a formal Student Managed Fund Council will be formed to address the fund’s mission, advise students and professors, and frame SMF’s overall goals and achievements.
How has the SMF experience impacted Trinity alumni over the past 25 years? Hear from former SMF students themselves. “SMF was a unique experiential learning opportunity that allowed me to develop practical knowledge and skills that I will rely on throughout my career. I studied and analyzed equity investments in a team setting while making important decisions that improved the financial health of the University.” – Deral Robison ’23 Risk and Portfolio Management Analyst, Teacher Retirement System of Texas “The critical thinking and public speaking skills I developed in the SMF class have paid dividends in my current profession, along with the accountability that came with managing millions of dollars of the University’s endowment.” – Jorge Haddad ’17 Assistant Vice President, Relationship Manager, AllianceBernstein “The SMF was by far the most important class I took to prepare me for my career in wealth management. I am extremely proud that Trinity saw the value in offering this opportunity long before it was available at most schools. Having met with the current class of managers, I know the SMF is in great hands for sustained success in the future.” – Tyler Davies ’00 Investment Advisor, Sendero Wealth Management
If you have any questions about this report, please contact the Office of the Vice President for Finance and Administration at 210-999-7306 or the Office of the Vice President for Alumni Relations and Development at 210-999-7328. For more information, visit gotu.us/investments.