ASAE Annual Meeting

Bill Fisher will participate in a panel discussion titled “Investment Committees Gone Bad: Priceless Lessons From Costly Mistakes” at the ASAE Annual Meeting.

Our panelists discuss some of the more common mistakes that investment committees make, why they make them, and the adverse impacts those decisions can have from a fiduciary governance and performance perspective. Long-term investing is not for the faint of heart. Volatile stock markets, shifting interest rates, confusing expense structures, a pending presidential election, and a seemingly ever-expanding array of investment choices creates challenges for even the most experienced of investors. However, unlike traditional non-profit organizations whose committees are often comprised of tenured investment professionals, association investment committees reflect their member organizations which aren’t typically investment related. Furthermore, these committees rotate more frequently than traditional non-profits. The complexity of the investment landscape coupled with the profile of most investment committees creates an environment where errors in judgment may happen. More dangerous still, as opposed to malfeasance, these errors are almost always grounded in best intentions, making them difficult to spot.