Oxfam goes to Wall St., examines SU’s investments

The Oxfam club is revamping the Seattle University Responsible Investment Committee in order to investigate the ethicality of investments that contribute to Seattle U's endowment fund.

First established as a cooperative effort by ASSU and the Seattle U branch of Oxfam International, a global relief organization with clubs at several universities, the committee had been on hiatus until Oxfam club leaders recently decided to reinstate it. Making responsible investment one of its primary focuses this year, the group hopes to begin the committee's application process during

fall quarter.

Responsible Investment Committee student members will communicate with various campus outlets and utilize online sources at length to research the companies Seattle U invests in. Should the results of this research reveal that a company is unethical, the committee will then promote more responsible investments to the Seattle U Investment Committee or, in extreme cases, promote divestment from an unethical company.

The Responsible Endowments Coalition (REC), an organization promoting the establishment of such committees on investor responsibility at U.S. universities, will be the Oxfam club's primary resource on this endeavor. Oxfam club president Callie Woody and freshman member Mason Bryan attended the REC conference in New York over the weekend to learn more about responsible investments in preparation for the re-establishment of Seattle U's committee.

"We learned all about what responsible investment is, what it means to our university, and different ways to go about convincing our university that this is something that they should pursue," said Woody.

Seattle U's endowment fund is currently estimated at $178 million, according to the Finance and Budget Office.

Along with examining Seattle U's relationship with Nike and cutting any economic ties to the Sudanese government, another goal of the Responsible Investment Committee will be to move 1 percent of this $178 million endowment from big banks to smaller banks and

local credit unions.

In years past, Seattle U administration cooperated with similar suggestions. During the 2009-2010 academic year, Seattle U moved $500,000 of its endowment from investments in US Bank to Global Partnerships, a Seattle-based nonprofit that invests in microfinance organizations and cooperatives, as well as other local organizations.

According to Woody, REC considers Seattle U to be a "shining example" of responsible investments and cites the $500,000 switch to local banks as one of REC's "success stories."

"We're a Jesuit institution and we promote social justice in our community... that's something I take pride in. I feel that [responsible investment] is something that upholds our mission," Woody said.

Although this may be true, investigating Seattle U's investments will be a difficult task. Advised by the global investment advisory service Cambridge Associates, most of Seattle U's investments are in "funds of funds," a mutual fund that then invests in smaller funds. The Investment Committee allocates the endowment fund to stocks, bonds and other investments through different several different mutual funds.

One of these is Adage Capital Management, a firm that manages university assets nationwide. Although Seattle U can review the philosophy of mutual funds like Adage, the fine details of how Adage and other mutual funds handle the university's investments are not influenced by Seattle U and are not always easy to identify.

"It would take a lot of work to get down to the exact companies invested in," said James Adolphson, associate vice president for finance.

Woody hopes to change the accessibility of the university's investment information.

"We're going to see how transparent Seattle U is. If it's not [transparent], another goal of the committee [will be] to get this information open to the student body," Woody said.

Plans for the committee are still being discussed and the application process is in its infancy. The committee's goals might not be met until the next school year or later. While the rest of Seattle U's student body prepares for midterm and final exams as the quarter winds down, Oxfam club members will be doing double duty as they prepare to take responsible investment head-on.

Kellie may be reached at kcox@su-spectator.com