Your Questions Answered
Frog Fountain, Super Frog and the Campus Commons – these are all tangible representations of TCU. While the endowment is intangible, it continues to leave a permanent impact on campus for generations of Horned Frogs. Learn more through these commonly asked questions.
An endowment is an accumulation of investment accounts that are intended to support a non-profit institution’s mission and vision. Funds are either gifted by donors or set aside by the Board of Trustees.
Critical to the university’s culture is making the TCU experience as accessible as possible to the brightest students that represent diversity of thought, background and experience. Endowment-supported scholarships make this a reality. By strengthening our endowment, we lessen the unsustainable nature of continual tuition increases to provide resources dedicated to recruiting talented students regardless of financial situation.
A gift to the endowment not only benefits the university in the academic year the gift is received, but also provides continuous support into the future. The compound nature of investments means that a one-time gift is magnified beyond its initial amount, permanently impacting the university.
TCU Investment Management acts as a steward of the endowment to maximize returns within appropriate levels of risk. In coordination with the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees, the Chief Investment Officer develops and implements investment policy and asset allocation parameters that govern decisions. The professional investment staff is responsible for researching and analyzing asset classes and conducting due diligence on current and prospective investment managers.
The endowment is invested across a broad array of strategies designed to create a diversified portfolio that pursues long-term capital growth while providing a stable stream of income despite fluctuations in the financial markets. Investments include both conventional and alternative assets, including but not limited to, global equities, marketable alternatives, private equity, real estate, minerals and venture capital.
The endowment’s underlying investment assets are managed to withstand market fluctuations. The professional investment staff mitigates risk by diversifying across numerous asset classes, investment managers, and geographies so that the endowment may endure volatility events and market cycles.