Investments & Risk Management

Q: Does The New School have an endowment?
A: Yes. The New School’s endowment portfolio is designed to provide long-term financial security to the university in order to provide continual support of The New School’s activities and programs. The portfolio contains both unrestricted assets and restricted assets in the form of separate endowment funds established by donor gift instruments.

Q: Does the university manage the endowment?
A: Yes. The university handles the management of endowment funds internally. The Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees makes the investment decisions, supported by an external consultant. The Department of Investments, Treasury, and Enterprise Risk Management operationalizes the committee’s investment decision and policies and carries out the day-to-day administration of the investment functions.

Q:  Are social, environmental, and governance factors considered in the investment of The New School’s endowment?
A: Yes. In overseeing the university’s endowment portfolio, the trustees strive to assure that investment decisions take into account and exhibit a reasoned perspective in respect to social, environmental, and governance (SEG) implications. Investment activity is conducted in the context of the university’s educational mission, which is guided by respect for intellectual freedom, human dignity, and the rights and welfare of others. The trustees’ objective is to fulfill their fiduciary role in a responsible manner, and they are committed to a careful and thoughtful analysis of SEG factors related to investment.

Q: Does the university have an investment committee on responsible investment?
A: Yes. The Board of Trustees of The New School authorized the president of the university to appoint an Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility (ACIR) for the purpose of advising the trustees on the social, environmental, and governance (SEG) implications of The New School’s endowment investment program and to present recommendations to the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees on the SEG issues that arise in the management of the university’s endowment.

Q: Does the university regularly monitor operating cash?
A: Yes. The university regularly monitors, forecasts, and reports on operating cash on a daily, weekly, monthly, and annual basis. The department ensures there is adequate cash on hand to cover short-term and mid-term operating cash needs. 

Q: How does the university fund longer-term objectives and capital projects?
A: The university employs a number of strategies to fund longer-term objectives and capital projects, using a mix of operating cash, gifts and grants, and tax-exempt and taxable bond issues. 

Q: Does the university invest its operating cash?
A: Yes. The university invests operating cash in funds with a high level of liquidity and security, so cash is accessible and protected while earning a substantial yield. 

Q: Does The New School have an enterprise risk management (ERM) program in place?
A: Yes. The university has an enterprise risk management (ERM) program in place to identify, quantify, monitor, and mitigate risk. Risk is the threat that an event or action will adversely affect the university’s ability to achieve its objectives or implement its strategies successfully. Risks are interconnected across the university; therefore, traditional silo approaches to managing these risks are ineffective. The ERM program was created to systematically share risk and internal control knowledge across the university’s functions and departments. It is a coordinated approach of assessing and responding to all risks that affect the achievement of a university’s strategic and financial objectives.

The New School works to incorporate an enterprise-wide risk management culture into all its activities. This enterprise risk management framework ensures that decisions are made on an informed basis and aligned with the university’s risk tolerance and strategy.

Q: How is the university’s ERP program structured?
A: The Department of Investments, Treasury, and Enterprise Risk Management manages the university’s ERP, coordinating with individual risk owners and the Board of Trustees’ Audit and Risk Committee. The ERP broadly includes the following five steps:

1. Identify risks
2. Analyze and prioritize risks
3. Set risk tolerance
4. Develop and implement risk management strategies
5. Continuously monitor and measure

Investment Policy
Operating Cash Policy
Endowment Spending Policy
Policies and Procedures on Investment Responsibilities
Climate Change Investment Policy
Rebalancing Policy
Debt Management Policy
Disclosure Policy
Post-Issuance Compliance Policies and Procedure

Please contact [email protected] for further inquiry about our policies and procedures. 

Please contact [email protected] for additional help with our Investment and Risk Management policies and procedures.