REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS INVESTMENT RELATED SERVICES

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1 Chief Executive Officer: Martin Garber-Conrad Directors: Ted Kouri, Chair Nancy Reynolds, Vice Chair Joanne Berger Gurvinder Bhatia Chandra Clarke Terena Delaney John Mah Anne McLellan Carman McNary Liz O Neill Clive Oshry Gary Smith Honorary Chairpersons: Jean Forest John Mitchell Ron Odynski Benefactors: Canative Housing Corporation: Orval Belcourt, Director Georges Brosseau, Director Herbert C. Belcourt, Director Eldon & Anne Foote Harry Hole James F. Hole Ralph K. Hole George & Rae Poole John & Barbara Poole Family Alison Baldwin Rice E. John Slatter Don & Joan Stanley Robert & Shirley Stollery Francis Winspear Deceased REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Asset Allocation Study INVESTMENT RELATED SERVICES The Edmonton Community Foundation ( Foundation ) is a public charitable foundation created, funded and managed by Edmontonians to support existing and emerging charitable causes within our community. The Foundation began operating in We develop permanent endowments made up of individual charitable gifts. These gifts are invested on a pooled basis and the net income is distributed as grants to local charitable organizations. (Although the grants are distributed from income, the amount available for grants is currently based on 4.0% of the previous year s total market value of the investment pool.) The capital continues to grow with each new gift, generating additional income. The Foundation s net annual administrative expenses are less than 1% of the Foundation s net assets. Governance of the investments is required to maintain the purchasing power of funds entrusted to the Foundation to achieve maximum returns consistent with prudent investing and to ensure sound investment management practices so that the legacies created by donors are respected in perpetuity. Secretary: David McCalla Timeless contributions. Endless possibilities Street NW Edmonton, AB T5K 2V7 - Ph: (780) Fax: (780) info@ecfoundation.org - Web Site:

2 The Foundation is soliciting proposals for the review of our overall asset mix to determine if our current allocations will meet our long term investment objectives and our annual distribution target. All proposals will be evaluated based upon the solution which is best suited for the Foundation. The proposer must clearly identify the scope of services being offered and the related fee. Proposal Outline Proposals must have at least the following Information: I. Identity and Address of Principals Name of Firm Name, address, and telephone numbers of key contact Ownership structure of firm Brief biographies of individuals to be assigned and professional credentials Business focus/client base Describe the primary business focus of your firm. Describe your firm s affiliations with any organizations, specifically a brokerage firm; describe any such relationships in full. Describe your firm s target market in terms of plan size. Describe how many full-time staff your firm employs. Identify how many consulting clients you currently have and the dollar amount your firm has under consultancy management. Please provide a list of references from other endowments, foundations or pension plans that your firm has provided services for, along with a contact person for three of the organizations. In the past three years, has the firm, the Primary Consultant(s) or any other officer or principal of the firm been involved in any business litigation, regulatory or other legal proceedings or government investigation involving allegations of fraud, negligence, criminal activity, or breach of fiduciary duty relating to investment consulting activities? If so, please describe the case(s) and provide an explanation and indicate their current status. Identify your firm s client turnover (gains and losses) during the last three years.

3 II. Investment Management Process Asset allocation methodology Describe in detail how your capital markets return projections, risks and correlations are derived. Describe your asset allocation software and the methodology it employs. Is it developed in-house? If purchased externally, who is the vendor? Describe the asset classes you have experience modeling; e.g. Public equities, fixed income, hedge funds, other illiquids, etc. Describe your full-time staff committed to the development of your modeling capabilities. Briefly describe their qualifications. In general, what key strengths or competitive advantages does the firm possess that would generate superior performance and service? III. Fee Schedule Please outline your fee structure for the proposal services. Please indicate all services you propose to provide and their associated fees. Specifically, detail in terms of retainer, manager searches, performance monitoring on a quarterly basis, and other functions. The stated fee schedule must include all charges associated with your service provisions; the above fees must reflect your costs in their entirety. All responses to this RFP should take into account any and all taxes, which will become the obligation of the firm, awarded a contract. IV. Conflicts of Interest Please describe any potential or real conflicts of interest your firm may have in the management of this account. If there are conflicts, please describe how they are addressed. If hired, will your firm receive any form of compensation from working with this account that has not yet been revealed? If yes, what is the form of compensation? Does your firm accept soft dollar as a method of payment for services provided? If so, how do you prevent conflicts of interest? Please list the advantages and disadvantages you see in the use of soft dollars.

4 Proposal Evaluation Criteria Proposals will be evaluated based upon the following criteria: Services Proposal Responsiveness of the proposal to a clear understanding and description of the services to be rendered. Ability to routinely complete the services in a timely manner and present deliverables by their due dates. The cost of providing these services. Firm Qualifications and Experience Experience, depth and structure of the firm. Firm s scale of operations. Firm s focus and general resources. Management and Staff Qualifications Resumes and professional designations of individuals to be assigned and responsible for rendering the services. Firm employee turnover. Firm s ability to provide continuity of services. Responsibility of Offerors Award shall be made only to responsible contractors. To be determined responsible, a prospective contractor must: Have adequate financial resources to perform the contract. Be able to comply with the required delivery or performance schedule. Have a satisfactory performance record. Have a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics. Have the necessary organization, experience and skills required to successfully perform the contract. Have the necessary production, construction and technical equipment and facilities.

5 Be otherwise qualified and eligible to receive an award under applicable laws. Obtaining Information. Prior to award, the Foundation Administrator shall obtain information from the offeror necessary to make a determination of responsibility using the factors listed above. The unreasonable failure of an offeror to promptly supply information in connection with an inquiry with respect to responsibility may be grounds for determination of non-responsibility with respect to that offeror. Right of non-disclosure. Information furnished by an offeror pursuant to obtaining information may not be disclosed outside of the office of the Foundation Administrator. Cost Proposal Price will be a factor for evaluation after the merits of the proposal have been evaluated. Merits of the proposal are more important than price. As the proposals become more equal as to their overall evaluation, price will become more important. The Foundation expressly reserves the right to award to other than the lowest priced offeror. Rejection of Proposal The Foundation reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received. The Foundation is not under any obligation to award a contract, and reserves the right to terminate the RFP process at any time. Omission, inaccuracy or misstatement may be sufficient cause for rejection of the Proposal. All proposals shall become the property of Foundation. The Foundation reserves the right to reject proposals without providing any reasons. Other Proposal Requirements and Notices Three copies of the sealed proposal marked RFP-Asset Allocation Study must be submitted to the Foundation s Office, no later than 4:00 P.M., local time, on June 30, Failure to submit the required number of copies may be cause for rejection. No additional time will be accorded to such bidders beyond this date. The Foundation expects to award the contract in the third quarter of All inquiries may be directed to Chris Quinn, Director of Finance and Operations, at , or by at cquinn@ecfoundation.org. Edmonton Community Foundation street NW Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2V7