Investing Our Assets

MaineCF brings people and resources together to build a better Maine. MaineCF is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and to ensuring that Maine is a safe, welcoming, and accepting place for everyone. This commitment extends to the management of the community foundation’s investment assets.

One of the most important responsibilities of MaineCF’s board of directors is oversight of our investment program through the Maine Community Foundation Investment Committee. The board recognizes that MaineCF’s values and goals must be reflected in its investment program. The marriage of values, goals, and investing is what MaineCF defines as “responsible investing.”

MaineCF is committed to partnering with investment managers who demonstrate constructive engagement with ESG and DEI factors. In partnership with its investment consultant, MaineCF investment staff and committee will follow the guidelines outlined in the Statement of Responsible Investing.

Effective stewardship of philanthropic assets is key to MaineCF's ability to fulfill its mission of building permanent charitable funds to strengthen Maine communities. Our investment goal is to preserve and enhance the real value of these assets over time. Find more information about MaineCF's monthly and quarterly investment performance here.

Investment Committee Oversight

MaineCF’s primary portfolio is managed by the combined effort of the volunteer investment committee, MaineCF investment staff, and an outside investment consultant. The investment committee sets investment policy, strategic asset allocation, and overall strategy. Members of the investment committee have extensive experience in business, investment, and financial services industries

Investment Committee Members:

Mark Howard, Committee Chair, CFA, managing director and senior multi-asset specialist, BNP Paribas
Forrest Berkley, retired partner, GMO LLC, member of independent Board of TIAA-CREF mutual funds and College Retirement Equity Fund
Martha Dumont, independent financial consultant
Elizabeth R. Hilpman, partner, Barlow Partners
Brooke Parish, president, Corvid Peak Capital Management
John B. Sullivan, president, Portland Global Advisors

Maine Community Foundation Investment Staff

MaineCF investment staff work directly with the investment committee, the independent investment consultant, and the individual Investment managers to carry out the community foundation’s investment strategies. Investment staff is responsible for developing the community foundation’s strategic asset allocation plan and making recommendations on investments and use of money managers. Investment staff is also responsible for compliance with the Statement of Responsible Investing and recommending updates to the statement as societal and market needs develop.

Brendon Reay, vice president- investments, oversees the staff effort to manage the investment program. Prior to joining MaineCF, Brendon co-founded a consulting and private equity firm based in Blue Hill. He was also senior executive in the hedge fund industry and spent several years as in investment consultant at a large global investment consulting firm. Brendon has chaired and participated on investment and finance committees of various nonprofit organizations. He joined MaineCF in March 2022.

Independent Investment Consultant

Maine Community Foundation staff and Investment Committee members work closely with an independent investment consultant to monitor investment manager performance and advise the committee on investment strategy, asset allocation, and manager selection. The investment consultant also provides extensive analytical and comparative reporting to assist the committee with its decision-making.

For two decades, the Investment Committee worked with Cambridge Associates, LLC, of Boston. Changes in Cambridge’s scope of services and fee led the Investment Committee and staff to conduct an extensive and comprehensive search for alternatives. In January 2020, MaineCF hired Monticello Associates to take over the role of investment consultant. Monticello is an independent asset management consulting firm founded in 1992. The Investment Committee believes as a smaller firm with experienced senior professionals, Monticello’s approach to investment manager research and its broad expertise in traditional and alternative investments will more closely align with MaineCF’s asset size and investment style. Similar to Cambridge Associates, Monticello Associates is completely independent, having no ties with any brokerage firm, investment management firm or other provider of financial services. This allows Monticello to be unbiased and provide objective advice with a focus on performance.

Portfolio Options

Primary Portfolio: The vast majority of the community foundation’s assets are held in the Primary Portfolio. This portfolio is built for long-term investing and is diversified globally and across multiple asset classes. All portfolio decisions are made through the combined effort of MaineCF staff and the Investment Committee, with input from the independent investment consultant. The Primary Portfolio offers donors and nonprofit organizations access to investment strategies and top-tier investment managers often only available to large investors. MaineCF’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion extends to the management of the community foundation’s invested assets. MaineCF’s Statement of Responsible Investing provides a guideline for evaluating investment managers and informs investment-related decisions.
Fossil Fuel-Free Balanced Strategy: Under the management of Boston Trust Walden, the Fossil Fuel-Free Balanced portfolio offers fundholders access to an actively managed fund with the added focus of avoiding investment in companies whose primary business is to engage in the exploration, development, production, transport, or refining of fossil fuel resources. Similar to the Primary Portfolio, all securities undergo a comprehensive analysis of company policies and practices to assess their impact on employees, society, and the natural environment.

Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act

MaineCF adheres to the standards and practices described in the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA) passed by the Maine State Legislature in 2009. The act encourages long-term investment strategies that moderate portfolio value fluctuations resulting from sudden shifts in interest rates and market valuations.