Article Title
A Canary in the Payout-Rate Coal Mine
DOI
10.9707/1944-5660.1515
Key Points
In this article, we create a capital markets-based indicator to trigger when a discussion about changing portfolio payout rates may be appropriate. Although the payout rate is often a calendar agenda item for foundations and endowments, volatility in capital markets may cause a deluge of ad hoc payout discussions that may decrease the effectiveness of investment committees.
Recent market performance provides a poor foundation for decisions related to a sustainable payout. The most sustainable portion of the investment return is the portfolio yield. We construct a metric using equity and bond market yields as a quantitative leading indicator of when a payout-rate discussion may be warranted.
While this methodology might be more of a resource to university-affiliated or public foundations, which have complete discretion over the level of the payout rate, private foundations might find understanding the sustainable payout of a portfolio useful in determining the potential erosion of the corpus caused by an unsustainable payout rate.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Alexander, J. C. (2020). A Canary in the Payout-Rate Coal Mine. The Foundation Review, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.9707/1944-5660.1515
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