Investment Performance and Rate of Spending

During the 2008–2009 market decline, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund’s endowment value fell to a low of approximately $609 million in early 2009. The Fund’s portfolio began to recover in 2010, with investment performance increasing by 13 percent. Following fluctuations in 2011, the portfolio finished the year at $722 million, after total spending which includes approximately $41 million of expenditures that count toward the minimum distribution requirement, plus approximately $3 million for investment-related expenses. Investment performance for 2011 reflected an increase of approximately 3 percent.

As the value of the portfolio fluctuated, the Fund again experienced a gap between the average market value of investment assets used to set the 2011 program spending budget and the actual average market value for the year. Given actual portfolio performance, net of spending, the Fund experienced a significant decline in both its portfolio from 2009–2011, and, consequently, its payout requirements. As a result, the Fund exceeded the minimum I.R.S. distribution by approximately $38 million, including the costs associated with the 2009 office relocation and green buildout. These carryforward credits can be used against future I.R.S. spending requirements. The RBF board of trustees has remained committed to supporting the programmatic interests of the Fund and its grantees; and has not drawn on the significant available tax carryforwards that could be used to reduce current spending.

Total spending as a percentage of the average market value of investment assets through the year was 5.46 percent in 2011. This compares with 5.80 percent in 2010, and 8.15 in 2009; the latter included expenditures related to the Fund’s office relocation and green buildout.