Print
Nonprofit

New Hanover Endowment Taps BlackRock As Its Investment Manager

By Johanna F. Still, posted Oct 26, 2022
The New Hanover Community Endowment has partnered with investment firm BlackRock to manage its financial portfolio, created by last year’s sale of New Hanover Regional Medical Center to Novant Health. 

As one of the largest legacy health foundations in the nation, the New Hanover Community Endowment is tasked with growing its value over time, which started at about $1.25 billion. Including the settled escrow, the endowment’s balance was $1.29 billion last November. Recent turbulent economic conditions have caused the fund to lose about 10% of its value – down to $1.1 billion, according to investment officials.

Jeffrey Saef, managing director at New York-based BlackRock, said with the stock and bond markets respectively down 20% and 17%, the New Hanover Community Endowment's dip is not surprising. “They've lost a little bit of money but nothing close to their peers,” Saef said. “It’s been well managed and very conservatively managed.” 

While BlackRock does not disclose its specific underlying investment strategies, Saef said the firm would protect the endowment’s value by diversifying its investments across public and private markets. BlackRock's nonprofit clients with less reliance on public markets performed relatively better than their counterparts, according to Saef.

“The more things you could do that were not connected to the overall stock and bond market, those clients that embraced more of those alternative strategies, or perhaps less liquid strategies – private markets, private equity, private credit – are certainly faring a bit better than those that were all in just the public markets,” he said. 

New Hanover Community Endowment CEO and President William Buster said the organization interviewed about seven firms in the search for an investment manager, and BlackRock “rose to the top.” 

“Even a lot of other organizations use some of [BlackRock’s] software to do some of their own work,” Buster said. “So BlackRock is really the leader in this space.”

The New Hanover Community Endowment will join BlackRock’s nonprofit subset (including nonprofits, endowments, foundations and health care entities), which has a total asset size of over $100 billion among over 400 clients, according to Saef. 

Within this subset, Saef said clients subscribing to BlackRock’s whole portfolio solution (wherein the firm manages a client’s entire fund rather than just a portion of it) have assets totaling $15 billion. “We’re incredibly honored to have been selected” by the New Hanover Community Endowment, Saef said. “It's a very meaningful relationship for BlackRock.”

BlackRock’s whole portfolio management clientele has grown recently, Saef said, prompted by volatile economic markets in recent years. Lately, it’s been difficult to protect client assets, he said. BlackRock will employ a “best-in-class approach” to selecting managers, Saef said, including third-party asset managers, depending on the asset class. “We call it an open architecture … best-of-breed approach to building the asset allocation and the manager lineup,” he said. 

As a charitable nonprofit, each year, the New Hanover Community Endowment must give away a portion of its assets; bylaws task the group with distributing no more than 4% of its market value annually. 

The fund’s recent losses will not interrupt plans to disperse funding in its inaugural grant cycle, according to Buster. Endowment officials are in the process of reviewing the 293 proposals the fund received last month, he said. 

The endowment has a goal to disperse $10 million in its first cycle, and grant recipients will be notified of their award on Dec. 1, officials said.

Earlier this month, Buster announced the hiring of the endowment's third and fourth staff members, Lakesha McDay, vice president of programs and operations, and Joel Beeson, chief financial officer. The endowment’s first employee, executive assistant Alison Cheng, remains on board. 

By the end of 2023, Buster said he hopes to have a staff of 10 total. While the group is still looking for permanent office space, it will continue to operate out of coworking space at Common Desk.
Ico insights

INSIGHTS

SPONSORS' CONTENT
Untitleddesign2 4523114356

Cybersecurity and Productivity: Striking the Perfect Balance for Business Success

Barrett Earney - EarneyIT
Pfinder john zachary

What You Need to Know About SECURE 2.0 and Its Effect on Individual Retirement Accounts

John B Zachary - Pathfinder Wealth Consulting
Unknown 7112393341

Why Feasibility is Paramount to Success

Holly Segur - Lead Intuitively – Corporate Coaching

Trending News

Conservation Group Signs $8M Deal To Buy The Point On Topsail Island

Audrey Elsberry - Mar 26, 2024

National Organization Bestows Top Award On Cape Fear Professional Women In Building

Staff Reports - Mar 26, 2024

Engineering Firm Hires Four Employees

Staff Reports - Mar 26, 2024

N.C. Ports Officials React To Baltimore Bridge Collapse

Audrey Elsberry - Mar 26, 2024

NCino's Fourth-quarter Earnings Signal Rebound From Liquidity Crisis

Audrey Elsberry - Mar 27, 2024

In The Current Issue

Q&A: Andrews Reflects On Leadership

Pender County Manager David Andrews is slated to retire this summer after 33 years in local government....


Berries, A Battlefield And More In Pender

The N.C. Blueberry Festival, founded in 2003, is one of several events in Pender County that have drawn more attention over the years....


Expanding Tastes On Castle Street

As John Willse and Beth Guertin, owners of Wilmington Wine bottle shop and now the recently opened Creative Tastings restaurant on Castle St...

Book On Business

The 2024 WilmingtonBiz: Book on Business is an annual publication showcasing the Wilmington region as a center of business.

Order Your Copy Today!


Galleries

Videos

2023 Power Breakfast: Major Developments