MPLT, the investment arm of the Department of Public Lands, said the National Association of College and University Business Officers and Commonfund Study of Endowments reported that the board’s prudent practices resulted in better returns.
MPLT’s previous annualized return was 3 percent while the U.S. endowments included in the survey averaged a loss of negative -4.2 percent.
The data analyzed in the study are comprised of 850 U.S. endowments representing over $350 billion in total assets, MPLT said.
“The results of this study show that MPLT’s consistent top performing investments should be attributed to the trustees’ use of a prudent process while implementing fiduciary standards of practice. It is the trustees’ strict adherence to the fiduciary process that keeps MPLT’s returns at the top of over 850 funds in the nation,” said MPLT Chairman Phillip Mendiola-Long who was replaced by Alvaro A. Santos as board chairman following a recent board election.
Mendiola-Long said the MPLT trustees are extremely proud of their performance because the agency made it as well as on the top 5 percent of public funds with an annualized return of 6.3 percent compared to 5.6 percent for the five-year period.
“Our top nationwide ranking is a remarkable feat considering our investment portfolio is heavily defensive and conservative in nature,” he said.
“The make-up of our investment portfolio is driven by the requirements of our beneficiary, who at this point requires as much income producing investments as possible. This investment position prevents MPLT from partaking in a lot of the growth in the stock market but also prevents us from being hurt by its large losses,” he added.
