In these unusual market conditions, the investment portfolios of The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation have not been immune to the decline in the stock markets in Canada, the U.S. and around the world, and have lost value. The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation wants to assure our donor community that the Foundation’s assets are invested in a well-diversified pool of investments with the objective to achieve long-term investment goals. The Foundation is confident that our investments are managed by very capable investment firms and will provide solid long-term returns.

The investments of the Foundation are supervised by the Investment Committee of the Board of Directors. The Investment Committee is comprised of a group of highly skilled investment professionals. The Committee is chaired by Marianne Harris (President & CEO of Merrill Lynch Canada) and includes Keith Ambachtsheer (Chairman, Board of Directors, The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation and Director of Rotman International Centre for Pension Management at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto), Lloyd Atkinson (an independent economist and financial consultant who, at one time, was Vice-President and Chief Economist at the Bank of Montreal), Stephen Goldhar (President of Master Plan Management Limited), Paul Alofs (President & CEO of PMHF) and Asha Raheja (VP of Finance, PMHF). The committee constantly monitors the performance of PMHF’s investments and manages it within the Board’s Statement of Investment Policies and Goals (SIPG). The SIPG sets the risk-related guidelines and return targets for each of the Foundation's investment portfolios.

PMHF currently has three highly-reputable Investment Managers. Endowment funds are managed by Commonfund, a non-profit membership organization whose sole focus is the investment needs of non-profit institutions using a range of strategies, including equities, real estate and private capital. Founded in 1971, Commonfund manages over $43 billion in assets for its more than 1,800 clients. General and Restricted Funds are handled by Jarislowsky Fraser Limited, a registered investment counseling firm that manages over $57 billion in assets, and Canso Investment Counsel Ltd., whose managed assets total more than $1.6 billion.

Like all investors, we will be pleased to see the end of the current market volatility, but in the meantime, The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation is being well-served by both our Investment Committee and by our Investment Managers.