subject: Using Risk Management Software to Manage an Endowment [print this page] Using Risk Management Software to Manage an Endowment
Managing an endowment is a great responsibility -- and one that many investment committees find daunting. Without the proper guidance, it is extremely easy to misstep and not get all the possible returns on an investment, or worse, end up losing a large portion of the endowment. In the past, this led many investment committees to hire a financial consultant or risk manager to help them navigate the sometimes murky waters of investing. However, with the increasing availability of high-end endowment risk management software, it is becoming easier and easier for investment committees to responsibly handle endowment risk management on their own.
One of the things that previously made it so difficult for investment committees to manage endowments properly without outside advice is the sheer amount of information. With multiple pages of information and spreadsheets for each investment, and generally multiple investments per endowment, it is difficult to get a good idea of which strategies work well and which don't.
That's where endowment risk management software comes in. It not only provides you with the tools you need to manage any kind of investment -- real-time market analyses, a comparison of liquidity and returns to other peer-level investments, and a comprehensive overview of exposures -- it also is tailored to work with the multiple users so often found in an endowment scenario.
For instance, while any reputable financial risk management software should provide you with a detailed series of aggregated information as far as peer and market benchmarks are concerned, endowment risk management software also allows you to set alerts on the endowment fund's exposure limits, which can protect you both financially and legally, since it ensures that you do not break any mandates. Also, you get a unique, comprehensive view of the endowment's activities and performance by using a financial management software that you would not be able to get without a good deal of professional analysis otherwise. Instead of all the members of the endowment committee having to page through endless spreadsheets and performance reports, an endowment risk management software gives you a quick, one-click, easy to read analysis of your endowment's performance, and which strategies and managers are working the best for it. Finally, you can use the software to assess talent and alpha, making it easier to decide which way to go on certain opportunities.
Although managing an endowment can be daunting, with endowment risk management software, it doesn't have to be drudgery. So, trade in your pages of indecipherable reports and hours of poring over reports for quick, easy, visual real-time information. It not only makes life easier for you and your investment committee; it's simply a good endowment investment strategy.
