About the E&MT - The Episcopal Diocese of Northern California

A Brief Description

The Endowment and Memorial Trust Fund (EMTF) of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California was established by the Diocese through the actions of the Bishop and the Annual convention in 1974 to provide a centralized entity within the diocese to hold and invest funds on behalf of the diocese and its congregations to gain the advantages of professional management and to provide a source for loans to support the capital projects of congregations and the Diocese. The Episcopal Foundation of Northern California works with congregations to enhance their Planned Giving results. The Trustees encourage you to go to the Foundation's website to obtain more information on planned giving.

The EMTF operates as a trust under the 501C(3) non-profit status of the diocese. It has a Board of Trustees (currently ten Trustees including the Bishop) who are appointed by the Bishop upon the recommendation of the Board of Trustees of the Diocese on an annual basis, with no limitation on the number of annual terms that can be served. Click here to view a list of current Trustees.

Click here for additional information...

The EMTF receives funds, including memorials, and reserve funds congregations and the Diocese, and invests the funds in one or more of three funds according to the wishes of the depositor of the funds. Click here for investment transaction guidelines.

Union Bank is the fund custodian and provides investors with monthly statements of activity. The current manager of the funds on behalf of the EMTF is HighMark Capital Management a subsidiary of Union Bank, N.A. No management fees are assessed by the EMTF. Custodian and management advisor fees are assessed by Union Bank.

The three funds are invested according to the Investment Policy adopted by the EMTF on July 20, 2011. Click here for investment objective.

The A fund, hereafter known as the Balanced Fund has as its primary goal growth of principal and production of income with a moderate risk tolerance. The target allocations are equities 65%, fixed income and real estate loans in the diocese 30% and cash 5%. Click here for a more detailed Asset Allocation.

The B fund, hereafter known as the Income Fund is invested predominantly in bond funds and is designed to produce a reasonably reliable flow of income with minimal risk of loss of capital. The time horizon on the bonds is 2-5 years. To provide a hedge against inflation up to 25% may be invested in low risk equities or alternatives.
The C fund, hereafter known as the Money Market Fund, is invested in money market and short-term bond funds with a time horizon of less than one year. It is designed to provide liquidity with very modest returns.

HighMark Capital Management prepares a comprehensive quarterly report to the EMTF. This report is available to investors on request. HighMark also prepares a quarterly performance summary that is posted on this website - coming soon.

Real Estate Loans: As of January 2012 the EMTF had $2.5 million of outstanding loans. Loans are predominantly for capital projects pursued by congregations. These loans are made by application of a congregation or other entity and require the approval of the Diocesan Project Review Committee, the EMTF, and the Standing Committee and are executed upon recommendation of the Bishop. Click here for Loan Application guidelines. The guidelines already exist on Diocese Accounting The interest rate is variable and is determined by the EMTF on an annual basis. (Click here for the current interest rate) 12 The interest rate is kept as low and as stable as market conditions permit but since the loans represent investments by other congregations in the Diocese the return must be sufficiently high that the EMTF can attract funds from the congregations in the Diocese. Loans are generally secured by deeds of trust on the property of the borrowing congregations. The EMTF maintains a loan loss reserve fund although no defaults have occurred thus far.