Thank you for your continuing support of TMU students. For any questions regarding your donation or receipt please email Sergio Chiodo at schiodo@torontomu.ca or 416-979-5000 ext. 556516.
2024 Endowment Financial Report
Why Your Gift Matters Today and Tomorrow
Endowed gifts to the university are the reason why Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) continues to grow and gain prominence as a leading education centre for tomorrow’s creative thinkers, civic leaders and global citizens. When you make an endowed gift to TMU, you are helping to sustain the university as a vibrant hub for education in the long term and, more than that, you are investing in young people’s promise and potential to achieve excellence for years to come.
At TMU, “excellence” is as diverse as our student body and campus community. Within 10 entrepreneurial zones, young people are able to turn their creative ideas into actionable ventures. Across eight wide-ranging faculties (with Medicine on its way), students are encouraged to extend their learning and push beyond, supported by top-tier instructors and surrounded by state-of-the-art resources. At the heart of each young leader’s learning at TMU is a desire to make Toronto and cities around the world more equitable, inclusive and prosperous places to live. We’re here to ensure that our students and researchers are equipped to make an impact. With careful stewardship of your investment, we build a strong and sustainable future – together.
Enhancing the Present and Planning for the Future
Endowed gifts to TMU provide on-going and self-sustaining support to the university, vital to fulfilling our mission and vision.
To ensure endowments provide the same level of financial support to future generations of students as they do to current students, all endowment funds are placed in a non-expendable, TMU Endowment Investment Pool to earn investment income. For a new endowment, expendable resources become available when the gift has been invested for a minimum of one full year. This ensures the preservation of the principal, and the longevity of the endowment's impact.
Each endowment at TMU has an expendable account. The interest generated annually from the invested endowment becomes expendable and is allocated to the expense designated by the donor, such as students awards, scholarships, bursaries, research and more. The spending level is a percentage of a three-year rolling average of the inflation-adjusted capital value of the endowment, a calculation authorized by the TMU Board of Governors.
To ensure the longevity and impact of each fund, interest earned above the spending allocation and rate of inflation is used to establish or contribute to a stabilization fund. Each endowment has its own stabilization fund, which allows for year-over-year fluctuations in earnings by providing a reserve to be used if a fund does not earn sufficient income to cover inflation and the approved spending amount. The maximum size of a stabilization fund is 15 percent of the inflation-adjusted value of the endowment. When a stabilization fund reaches the 15 percent maximum, excess earnings are returned to the principal endowment account.
In the rare instance when the investment return is less than the rate of inflation plus the spend rate, and there are insufficient funds in the stabilization fund to meet the spending commitment, there will either be a delay in spending or, following approval by the TMU Board of Governors, the expenditure will be paid from operating funds.
Endowment Fund at a Glance
Endowment Structure
Endowment Fund Performance in 2023-24
Investment Highlights
Asset Allocation (by $ value)
Portfolio Growth
Note: 2018 is lower than 2017 primarily due to net redemption and closing on some smaller endowments.
Endowment By Faculty
Understanding Endowments at TMU
A: An endowment fund consists of a non-expendable pool of funds that earns investment income and grows at the rate of inflation. Investment income earned on the endowment principal provides the financial resources needed to preserve the value of the endowment and fund the related spending commitments.
A: The book value represents the actual cash value of gifts received to date since the inception of the endowment fund. The market value represents the combined value of all gifts to the endowment fund – and other increases, investment yields and gains or losses due to market fluctuations. Market value is based on the units held in each fund and represents their market value at a specific point in time.
A: TMU’s Board of Governors houses a dedicated Finance Committee, comprising a group of senior volunteers who bring vast experience in financial management from public and private sectors. Together with the university’s External Investment Managers at Fiera Capital Corporation, we ensure that every investment you make is managed and stewarded strategically to maximize long-term impact.
A: The spending level is a percentage of a three-year rolling average of the inflation-adjusted capital value of the endowment, and is authorized by the TMU Board of Governors.
A: Fiera Capital invests the entire pool of the university's endowment funds into a mix of equities (56.6%) and bonds and securities (43.4%) in accordance with the university’s Endowment Funds and Investments policies, approved annually by the Board of Governors. The university's investment portfolio is generally conservative while focused on high-quality companies that are predominantly environmentally responsible, socially ethical and practice good governance.
A: The interest earned above the spending allocation and rate of inflation on each investment is used to establish and grow a stabilization fund. Each investment has its own stabilization fund, allowing for year-over-year fluctuation in earnings and providing a reserve should an investment not earn sufficient income to cover inflation and the approved spending amount. The maximum size of a stabilization fund is 15% of the inflation-adjusted value of the endowment, with excess earnings returned to the principal and re-invested.
A: Yes, you may add gifts of any amount to your endowed fund at any time. Your gift will be added to the book value and will be recorded on your endowment statement the following fiscal year.
A: We would be pleased to provide you with an endowment statement at any time. Statements are based on the previous fiscal year and are available each fall.
For more information, please contact:
Rivi Frankle
Assistant Vice-President, University Advancement
Toronto Metropolitan University
rfrankle@torontomu.ca