Charityvest DAF portfolio options
Details on the available Charityvest portfolio options with the Foundation Source DAF platform.
By default, the balance of a Foundation Source donor-advised fund account is held in cash, and is free to use. This is ideal for pass-through grantmaking. For private foundation clients looking to use a DAF as a complementary grantmaking tool, a Cash account is likely the best fit.
If your client is looking to invest their DAF balance, currently, you will need to edit your client's investment allocation, which will automatically enroll them in a paid Invested account.
As a PCA, you can choose from prepopulated Charityvest investment portfolio options for your client's DAF account balance.
Charityvest portfolio recommendations
The main considerations for a DAF investment portfolio are:
Portfolio type: whether your clients are interested in optimizing their DAF investments for cost or values-alignment.
Risk level & time horizon: how their investments are allocated across bonds or equities, in accordance with their grantmaking schedule.
Is your client planning to grant a significant portion of their DAF balance to charity within 1 year?
If yes, a Cash account may be the preferred option.
The following six Charityvest portfolios are available for Foundation Source DAF clients. As a PCA, you can select an appropriate option on behalf of your client in accordance with their giving priorities.
Charityvest Conservative Portfolio
Standard
Relatively low risk
1-2 year grantmaking time horizon
Charityvest Balanced Portfolio
Standard
Medium risk
5 year grantmaking time horizon
Charityvest Growth Portfolio
Standard
Relatively higher risk
More than 5 year grantmaking time horizon
Charityvest Conservative Portfolio (Filtered)
Filtered (avoids exposure to companies in controversial industries).
Relatively low risk
1-2 year grantmaking time horizon
Charityvest Balanced Portfolio (Filtered)
Filtered (avoids exposure to companies in controversial industries).
Medium risk
5 year grantmaking time horizon
Charityvest Growth Portfolio (Filtered)
Filtered (avoids exposure to companies in controversial industries).
Relatively higher risk
More than 5 year grantmaking time horizon
Portfolio type
The Foundation Source DAF program offers two investment portfolio options:
Standard Portfolio: built using Vanguard Select ETFs. These ETFs are selected by Vanguard’s Portfolio Review Department as ideal choices for portfolio building blocks because of their broad exposure to the indices they track, low expense ratios, and high daily liquidity. Learn more about Vanguard Select ETFs here.
Filtered Portfolio: offers similar diversification as the Standard portfolio, but provides an opportunity for donors to avoid exposure to companies who participate in what may be deemed objectionable or controversial industries, such as alcohol, gambling, adult entertainment, and predatory lending. The Filtered Portfolio includes ETFs from the BlackRock iShares Advanced ESG suite and broader Sustainable Spectrum product line, which offers comparable underlying indices as the Standard Portfolio, at a very modest expense ratio premium.
Not sure which portfolio type would be best suited for your client?
The main difference between the Standard Portfolio and the Filtered Portfolio is the investment cost (Standard is lower cost) and the selection of investments (Filtered avoids exposure to companies in controversial industries).
Here are the assets which make up each of the portfolio types, with expense ratios as of Feb 15, 2024 in parenthesis:
Risk level & time horizon
The Foundation Source DAF program offers three possible allocations for each of the portfolio types:
Conservative: A bonds-focused allocation, appropriate for clients who plan to grant contributions to charity within a year or two.
Balanced: An allocation balanced between stocks and bonds, appropriate for clients who plan to grant contributions to charity within 5 years.
Growth: An equities-focused allocation, appropriate for clients who plan to grant contributions to charity over an extended period (more than 5 years).
US Equities
22.5%
40%
45%
Developed Market Equities
7.5%
15%
17.5%
Emerging Market Equities
0%
5%
7.5%
US Fixed Income
35%
20%
15%
International Fixed Income
0%
0%
0%
Ultra-Short Duration Fixed Income
35%
20%
15%
Not sure which risk level would be best suited for your client?
Choosing between the Conservative, Balanced, and Growth allocations should be based on the expected amount of time your client will maintain their DAF investment. The sooner your client intends to grant, the more conservative (bonds-focused) the allocation should be. If they plan to grant their balance within 1 year, a Cash account may be the best fit.
View portfolios
To view all available Charityvest portfolios via the Portfolios tab from your PCA admin Dashboard:
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