Investing with Virginia Episcopal Investment Funds
The purpose of Virginia Episcopal Investment Funds (VEIF) is to help Virginia Episcopal parishes and organizations achieve competitive investment returns while embracing the mission and goals of the Diocese and the broader Episcopal Church.
Our Investment Committee is composed of six trustees with over 150 years of investment-related experience. The primary role of the Investment Committee is to work with our professional Investment Advisor to implement the investment policies of VEIF.
Alan Gayle, Investment Committee Chair, letter to VEIF Participants
Our Investment Advisor
VEIF’s Investment Advisor is LCG Associates, a national investment consulting firm, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia that provides highly customized advice to a select number of clients. Our primary contacts at LCG are Ms. Claire Chotiner, President, and Mr. Zach Brummet, Consultant.
Claire P. Chotiner,
CFA, CAIA
President, LCG Assoc.
Ms. Chotiner joined LCG in 2007. She serves as President, is a member of the Board of Directors and oversees the firm’s business operations. In addition to her management responsibilities, Claire works with a limited number of clients and conducts capital market and asset class research. Prior to serving in this role, Claire was Chief Operating Officer, Senior Consultant. She started her career with LCG as an Investment Analyst. Claire is a CFA Charter holder and a member of the CFA Society of Atlanta. She is also a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (“CAIA”) Charter holder.
Zach L. Brumett,
CFA, CAIA
Consultant
Mr. Brumett joined LCG in 2014. He serves as a Consultant, and his responsibilities include investment strategy development, manager due diligence, special research projects, and providing investment advice to clients. He began his career at LCG as an Investment Analyst. Zach is a CFA Charter holder and is a member of the CFA Society of Atlanta. He is also a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (“CAIA”) Charter holder.
Cooperative Structure
The Virginia Episcopal Investment Funds operates in a cooperative manner with all Participants benefiting from the economies of scale associated with 150 investors pooling their assets into three actively managed funds. VEIF earns no profit and charges no fees. All net earnings go to Participants to fuel their ministries.
Benefits include:
- Far lower costs for in-depth investment advice and active management than available to an individual investor.
- Professional management provided by LCG Associates which provides highly customized advice to a select number of clients.
- Performance of funds, compliance with VEIF’s Investment Policy, and operating expenses are overseen by a Board of business, law and investment professionals, and a professional Executive Director and Secretary/Treasurer.
- Access to investment vehicles within our three funds which are often not available to small or individual investors.
- Investments that adhere to Episcopal values.
- Independent and Objective professional asset management that shields churches and organizations from potential conflicts of interest.
- Ongoing professional management of assets provides continuity of service to participating churches and organizations.
- No minimum investment amount required so the smallest Virginia Episcopal organization may participate.
Investing with Episcopal Values
The primary goal of Virginia Episcopal Investment Funds is to deliver solid investment performance balanced with reasonable investment risk. Embedded in that goal is a sincere commitment to Episcopal values described in the Diocesan Canons. VEIF affirms “the social responsibility of the church and the social implications of the Christian faith.” (Diocese of Virginia Canon 13; Section 2).
Our Episcopal-Aligned Investing Policy commits to Socially Responsible Investing by applying regular screens to our investments based on the Episcopal Church’s No-Buy List. We actively engage in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing by seeking opportunities to align our values with our portfolio.
| Overall Portfolio Objectives |
|---|
| Deliver solid performance for all portfolios through thoughtful screening, due diligence, and risk management. |
| The Board will review the Investment Policy at least annually to determine whether objectives are still relevant and feasible. |
| Less than 5% of aggregate VEIF assets is represented by companies on the DFMS no-buy list. |
| VEIF will seek to include investment managers that are diverse and represent minority populations. |
| Balanced Fund Objectives |
|---|
| At least 10% of Balanced Fund assets is invested in explicit ESG strategies. |
| At least 70% of the Balanced Fund will be considered fully liquid. |
| Illiquid investments will be diversified by industry, geography, and vintage year. |
| No single security (excluding mutual funds/commingled funds) should exceed 10% of the Global Equity market value at purchase. |
| No single major industry should exceed 25% of the Global Equity market value. |
| Foreign equities should not exceed 50% of the combined market value of Global Equity, Private Equity, and Real Assets/Real Estate. |
| The duration of the fixed income portfolio should range from three to nine years. |
| The average quality of the fixed income portfolio is intended to be AA or higher. |
| Debt issues denominated in foreign currencies should not exceed 30% of the fixed income portfolio. |
| The average duration of fixed income securities held within Liquid Capital should not exceed twelve months. |
| Short Term Fund Objectives |
|---|
| The Short Term Fund will seek to maintain a duration between one and two years. |
| The Short Term Fund will hold bonds of investment grade quality, on average, and should not hold bonds rated less than BB. |
| The Short Term Fund will retain at least three investment managers within the portfolio. |
| The Short Term Fund's volatility will remain relatively low and should be roughly in line with a portfolio of shorter-maturity bonds. |
| All Equity Fund Objectives |
|---|
| At least 10% of All Equity Fund assets is invested in explicit ESG strategies. |
| No single security (excluding mutual funds/commingled funds) should exceed 10% of the market value at purchase. |
| No single major industry should exceed 25% of the market value. |
| The All Equity Fund will retain at least three investment managers within the portfolio. |
| Foreign equities should not exceed 50% of the market value. |
| Small-cap managers should not exceed 25% of the All Equity Fund. |
Participant Services
Secure Information Portal
VEIF Participants may access a secure information portal which provides each parish’s or organization’s current and historical status of funds invested with VEIF. The information portal is password protected and only available to contacts provided by the Participant parish or organization.
Secure Transactions Portal
Participants make deposits and withdrawals from their invested funds through a secure transaction portal.
- The portal may only be used by Participant-authorized and registered contacts.
- All transaction communications are encrypted.
- All transactions undergo two-factor authentication.
Timely Information
VEIF sends out monthly financial statements on each parish’s funds, a performance summary of overall VEIF funds’ performance, and a market commentary.
VEIF sends out periodic memoranda outlining performance information, as well as other investment topics relevant to our Participants.
VEIF Participant services are supported by TCG, HUB International, that offers a variety of financial and administrative services to institutions and investors. TCG services over 1 million Participants and manages $7.3B in AUM and utilizing partnerships with custodians like Broadridge Trust and Schwab Bank allows TCG to enhance the Participant experience.
