Author: Sophia Caira
Economic strain across many factors has continued to create challenges for Catholic institutions who seek to grow their endowments so that they may sustain their vital ministries. This webinar was a wide-ranging discussion that focused on the macro and micro environment and outlook for the new year. This webinar featured Jack Brennan, CIS Founding Chair & Chairman Emeritus, The Vanguard Group, and Joseph Davis, Vanguard’s global chief economist and global head of the Investment Strategy Group, as they assessed the current state of the capital markets, highlight investment challenges and risks, and share best practice ideas on institutional investment themes. Joe also touched on his new book titled “Megatrends”, which demonstrates how AI, debt, demographics and deglobalization may impact the economy and markets in the coming decade. The info session concluded with questions from the audience.
00:00 – Tom Lanctot, CIS CEO, Welcome and opening prayer
03:02 – Jack Brennan, CIS Founding Chair, Introductions and starting the conversation
08:18 – How the forecasts were wrong about the economy and what the implications are
11:28 – The appeal of cash as an asset class
15:43 – Are recessions healthy?
17:38 – The rising rate environment
19:47 – The past and future of the 60/40 portfolio
23:46 – Inflation in the next 5 years
26:53 – Global portfolios: will we see globalization or deglobalization?
30:21 – Risk management and geopolitics
32:45 – The advent of alternative investments
36:13 – Megatrends and our financial future
46:50 – Q: Will there be positive or negative correlations between stocks and bonds in the future?
48:40 – Q: From an endowment point of view with an infinite time horizon, why not be in stocks entirely and avoid bonds in a portfolio?
51:35 – Q: Increases in prices seem to be holding despite decreasing inflation and wages; what is the long-term implication as prices seem to outpace wage increases?
54:22 – Thank you and closing
In this podcast, we highlight ten common pitfalls of building a Catholic foundation and how to address them. This is a continuation of our previous podcast, on Strengthening and Structuring Catholic Foundations and Trusts. In this session, you will hear from Catholic fiduciaries and industry experts sharing practical advice on the ten most common mistakes to avoid when building a Catholic foundation, and offering best practice solutions. Catholic Investment Services’ Zela Astarjian, Managing Director, is joined by Paulita Pike, CIS Trustee and Partner at Ropes and Gray, Elizabeth Tomlin, Archdiocese for the Military Services, John Schlageter, JKT Group, and Cory Howat, Catholic Community Foundation for the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
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In this podcast, Zela Astarjian, Managing Director at CIS, joins Sister Barbara Thomas of the United States Province of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Katie Thiemann of Cor Jesu Academy, and Sister Irene O’Neill of Sisters Rising Worldwide to discuss incorporating a culture of philanthropy in your religious community.
More and more, Catholic institutions are making advancement a priority. The reason: Without a strong advancement program, some organizations may struggle or fail in the decades ahead due to shifting demographics and donation practices among Catholics nationally. This will be an educational workshop and will cover essentials such as enhancing financial management practices, creating an advancement function, making fundraising more strategic and building a strong endowment. The discussion will examine how religious orders can secure their futures by implementing best practices for board and committee governance.
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In this webinar, we highlight ten common pitfalls of building a Catholic foundation, and how to address them. This is a continuation of our previous webinar, on Strengthening and Structuring Catholic Foundations and Trusts. In this webinar, you will hear from Catholic fiduciaries and industry experts sharing practical advice on the ten most common mistakes to avoid when building a Catholic foundation, and offering best practice solutions.
00:00 – Webinar opens, Zela Astarjian, CIS Managing Director, Welcome and Introductions
08:49 – Opening Prayer, Elizabeth Tomlin, Archdiocese for the Military Services
09:17 – Paulita Pike, CIS Trustee, Beginning the conversations on pitfalls for Catholic foundations to avoid
10:33 – Pitfall #1: Not defining your mission
17:50 – Pitfall #2: Not having timely, adequate staffing
24:17 – Q: Can Catholic foundations sign agreements with a diocese so that financial management staff can safely manage while stewarding funds appropriately?
25:57 – Pitfall #3: Not setting reasonable expectations nor timelines
31:10 – Pitfall #4: Not prioritizing hires appropriately
38:50 – Pitfall #5: Lack of proper governance
40:49 – Pitfall #6: Not contemplating canonical implications
42:43 – Q: Is there a recommended amount of assets before it makes sense to start a separate foundation?
45:00 – Pitfall #7: Commingling assets with confusion of assets between a foundation and archdiocese
48:14 – Pitfall #8: Not paying attention to details
41:00 – Pitfall #9: Not understanding your investments
54:30 – Pitfall #10: Not investing wisely
59:50 – Thank you and closing
In this podcast, you will hear about AI and the future ahead. AI has recently taken the world by storm. Its groundbreaking capabilities are being used for customer service, generating more reliable credit scores, enabling trading and money management, regulatory compliance, security and fraud prevention, and more. This dynamic discussion features Jack Brennan (CIS Founding Chair & Chairman Emeritus, The Vanguard Group), John Behrens (Director, Office of Digital Strategy, College of Arts & Letters at University of Notre Dame), Brian Barbetta (Wellington Management Global Industry Analyst), and Shelley Zhuang (Founder and Managing Partner at 11.2 Capital).
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In this session, Scott Malpass, Founder & Board Chair, Catholic Investment Services, leads a panel discussion on the role of global equities in institutional portfolio construction. Equity practitioners discuss their investment philosophy, research process and idea generation for stock selection.
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In this webinar you will hear about AI and the future ahead. AI has recently taken the world by storm. Its groundbreaking capabilities are being used for customer service, generating more reliable credit scores, enabling trading and money management, regulatory compliance, security and fraud prevention, and more. This dynamic discussion features Jack Brennan (CIS Founding Chair & Chairman Emeritus, The Vanguard Group), John Behrens (Director, College Technology Initiatives College at University of Notre Dame) and Brian Barbetta (Wellington Global Industry Analyst) and Shelley Zhuang (Founder and Managing Partner at 11.2 Capital). The info session concluded with questions from the audience.
00:00 – Tom Lanctot, CIS CEO, Welcome and Introductions, Opening Prayer
03:06 – Jack Brennan, CIS Founding Chair, Starting the Conversation on Artificial Intelligence
04:31 – Generative AI Overview, John Behrens
15:57 – Artificial Intelligence and its Implications
19:00 – AI at the Macro Level
24:05 – Watson vs. ChatGPT
26:35 – Generative AI, Challenges and Opportunities
34:00 – Impact and the Economy
37:04 – What’s Next for the Workforce
38:56 – Security Risks
41:00 – It’s All About the Data
44:56 – Q: Does AI diminish the human spirit?
46:10 – Q: How can you protect yourself from misinformation?
48:01 – Q: What is the single biggest ethical issue with AI?
50:15 – Q: What are the implications for hardware?
52:43 – Q: How does AI impact the environment?
55:17 – Thank you and closing
Catholic Investment Services Announces the Election of Two New Board Members
New Trustees bring deep leadership experience as Catholic fiduciaries.
Boston, MA. Catholic Investment Services (CIS) announced today the recent election of Sister Irene O’Neill, CSJ, and David Taiclet to its Board of Trustees. This brings the number of board members to nine.
Sister Irene O’Neill is a Sister of Saint Joseph of Carondelet and President of Sisters Rising Worldwide. David Taiclet is Managing Partner for Lewis & Clark Partners, a leading sustainable food and agribusiness investment group based in St. Louis.
“Sister Irene and Dave Taiclet bring a wide range of expertise to the CIS Board of Trustees,” said CIS Board Chair Scott Malpass, “and we are very lucky to have individuals of this caliber and stature volunteer their time to serve on our board and support the mission of CIS.”
Sister Irene founded Sisters Rising Worldwide, which uses an innovative technology platform to help more than 650,000 Catholic Sisters overcome the challenges of geography, language, and separate congregations to effectively share ideas and strategies and support their life changing work in over 190 countries. Sister Irene previously served as Chair of the Bethlehem University Foundation, a Regent for Bethlehem University in Palestine and a Trustee for Avila University.
David Taiclet has achieved success in private market investing as both a general partner and the CEO of a series of successful food and agribusiness companies, including some noteworthy turnarounds. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame and before entering Harvard Business School, Dave served on active duty for four years as a Captain in the 4th Infantry Division of the United States Army. Dave has been an active Catholic fiduciary, including service as Trustee and Chair of the Investment Committee for Saint Mary’s College.
About Catholic Investment Services
Catholic Investment Services was founded by Scott Malpass, the retired Chief Investment Officer for the University of Notre Dame, and Jack Brennan, the former Chairman and CEO of Vanguard, to address the investment challenges faced by Catholic organizations. CIS is a Catholic nonprofit providing investment solutions for other Catholic nonprofits and their investment consultants, and now manages almost $1 billion of client assets in five different strategies. CIS is distinct in the investment world for its commitment to advancing both Catholic principles and investment excellence; its passion for helping Catholic institutions sustain their vital work; and its diligence in providing sophisticated investment solutions and exceptional client service.
Media Contact:
Tom Lanctot
Chief Executive Officer
In this podcast, you will hear from Catholic fiduciaries and industry experts sharing practical advice on forming, structuring and strengthening Catholic foundations and trusts through best practice principles.
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