Established and incorporated under Canon 37, the Diocesan Investment Trust (DIT) is “a common trust fund for the purpose of furnishing investments to the Convention and to the Trustees, incorporated or unincorporated, holding funds for the benefit of the missionary, religious, benevolent, charitable or educational purposes of the Diocese, and to any Diocesan Congregation, whether said funds are held as fiduciary or otherwise.”
Our DIT Trustees have a wide range of extensive, diverse yet complimentary experience in institutional investing that they bring diligently to the table at each quarterly meeting (January, April, July and October). You can find out more about them here.
They partner with the following firms to provide high-quality, full-service management of our DIT portfolio
- Glenmede – investment advisors
- Investment Advisors – work with a team of market analysts to provide daily oversight of our asset allocation, recommending and executing changes as needed; attend quarterly Trustees’ meetings to report on performance and market conditions, both current and anticipated
- Socially Responsive Investing – help ensure that our portfolio is screened in accordance with guidelines consistent with The Episcopal Church and Church Pension Group guidelines to highlight favorable and unfavorable business practices
- Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. – proxy voting and shareholder resolution services – vote our shareholder proxies in accordance with guidelines set by The Episcopal Church and Church Pension Group, and present any shareholder resolutions we may choose to initiate
Investments into the DIT can be made by any congregation in our Diocese in addition to any trustee group or affiliated agency under the authority of our Diocese.
Thinking about investing? Here are some 2017 Year End Reports to help you decide if the DIT is for you:
- 2017 DIT Year End Summary Report
- December 31, 2017 19/19 Investment Counsel Market, Performance and Asset Allocation Report
The 2018 dividend rate is $2.00 per share per year. Those dividends are paid out (or reinvested if so desired) monthly at a rate of $0.166 per share per month.
Canon Phyllis Jones, our COO, serves as primary liaison with the DIT’s custodial bank, BNY Mellon, to process transactions. Redemptions and investments:
- can be processed on any business day of the month
- should allow for at least two business days to process the transaction
- must be accompanied by a signed vestry resolution or minutes from the vestry meeting at which the withdrawal or investment was approved in order to be processed
- should, in the case of investments, include a check made payable to “Diocesan Investment Trust” (electronic transfers are also acceptable)
Statements of account are sent monthly from BNY Mellon directly to each account holder at their address of record, and redemption and/or dividend checks when they occur are likewise sent directly to the account holder.
For both congregational and Diocesan governance groups and affiliates, who depend upon income generated from their investments to supplement pledge and other revenues in their operating budgets, the relative stability of the DIT and the steady, reliable dividends it pays are attractive features of the Fund. At their October quarterly meeting, the Trustees of the DIT determine the dividend rate for the subsequent year. Using a baseline rate of 4.5% based on a total-return distribution policy, the proposed dividend is first calculated on a rolling twelve-quarter average of net asset values. The resulting dividend value, expressed in terms of a dollar value per share per year rather than a percentage of net asset value, is then evaluated against current and expected market conditions and a final decision is reached.
