USD Foundation makes portfolio gains with 2010 investments

Despite a worldwide downturn in the economy last year, The University of South Dakota Foundation found a way to maximize investments and announced that its pooled endowment portfolio, which totals $140 million, had a one-year return of 16.4 percent at the end of 2010.

According to the Independent Consultant Cooperative (ICC), this return ranks The University of South Dakota Foundation�s portfolio in the top 1 percent of the ICC�s 22,000 client portfolios.

USD Foundation President Bryan Benchoff said he couldn�t be more pleased with the news as �The prudent management of all endowments is a responsibility that we take very seriously.� Benchoff added, �We are fortunate to have a highly-skilled investment committee providing a watchful eye over our investment practices.�

The ICC also ranked The Foundation�s 10-year return of 7.2 percent also ranks in the first percentile while the five year return of 6.3 ranks in the ICC�s third percentile.

�It�s important to note that there is no smoke and mirrors here,� explained Warren Prostrollo, investment committee chair of the USD Foundation. �We�ve found a good, solid plan to maximize our investment returns during the good times and protect the portfolio as much as possible during downturns.�