Message from Board Chair Donald P. Gould β 6/24/2024
Consistent with our commitment made in my letter to the ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ community of May 3, 2024, the Board is pleased to supply the following information. Data is as of May 31, 2024.
Dear ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ Community,
In April, ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ students requested information on the College endowmentβs investments in military and weapons manufacturers. Consistent with our commitment made in my letter to the ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ community of May 3, 2024, the Board is pleased to supply the following information. Data is as of May 31, 2024.
As I shared in the May 3 letter, the endowment does not directly own any publicly traded stocks. Instead, the endowmentβs entire stock portfolio is implemented through a fund, managed by a third-party that determines which stocks to own. ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ is one of many investors in the fund and does not control which stocks the fund owns. However, the College selected the fund in part because it applies ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria in its stock selection process.
By industry conventions, βmilitary and weaponsβ manufacturers fall within the broader category of βAerospace & Defenseβ companies (βA&Dβ). The fund in which ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ invests holds approximately 1.8% of its assets in A&D companies. Considering all the endowmentβs investments, including its investments outside the fund, A&D companies indirectly represent approximately $1.6 million out of total endowment value of $177.4 million, or approximately 0.9% of endowment assets.
It should be noted that not all A&D companies are military and weapons manufacturers, and those that are do not derive all revenues from military weapons manufacturing. Thus, the endowmentβs actual indirect investment in military and weapons manufacturing is less than the amounts disclosed above.
The Board is reviewing its policy on endowment disclosure to determine what additional information on endowment holdings it can provide to the ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ community on an ongoing basis. The Board will provide more information on this in September.
Sincerely,
Donald P. Gould
Chair, ΒιΆΉΤ΄΄ Board of Trustees
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Donald P. Gould
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