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The ups and downs of lesser-known stocks in its portfolio show just how closely managed Ensign Peaks holdings are. sltrib.com 1996-2023 The Salt Lake Tribune. The Ensign Peak Advisors office is located above a food court in Salt Lake City and doesn't appear in the list of companies at that building lobby. Last, the church concedes the whistleblower was accurate when stating their yearly gains were about 7%, which is the benchmark rule of thumb for most investment plans. Combining long-only-constrained factor sub-portfolios is generally not a mean-variance-efficient way to capture expected factor returns. It reported owning $27.8 million in shares in an index fund focused on companies in South Korea in late 2019, a stake that rose to $30.4 million by the end of last year. There might be ways to get there with creative accounting such as including what the church gives in assistance to members on the ward level, but remember again that local help is heavily funded by members on the local level and is also a way to evade the matter at hand which is how the church handles tithing contributions. The fund relies on a healthy share of so-called real estate investment trusts (REIT), which package landholdings into shares for sale. The head of EPA, Roger Clarke, indicated to the Journal that EPA is a . This big concession here is that the church admits they used this tax exempt fund to underwrite a for profit venture in the City Creek Mall and to rescue Beneficial Life, both of which were originally reported by the whistleblower. Steven Thorley is an Emeritus Professor of Finance at the Marriott School of Business. (The Salt Lake Tribune) President Gordon B. Hinckley assured Latter-day Saints during General Conference in 2003 that no tithing money went toward the City Creek Center mall. Just last year, Prophet Russell M. Nelson did a worldwide speaking tour where he told members in Africa that only paying tithing can get them out of the cycle of poverty. Address: 60 E South Temple Ste 400 Salt Lake City, UT, 84111-1040 United States A Salt Lake Tribune analysis shows the next highest concentrations of its investments beyond tech are in consumer goods, health care and financial sectors, each at stakes of between 12% to 15% of Ensign Peaks total value, for shares worth a total of $8.6 billion, $6.9 billion and $6.6 billion, respectively. In contrast, a long-only portfolio of individual securities, using the same risk model and return forecasts, captures most (e.g., 80%) of the potential improvement. Religion Unplugged reached EPA's managing director Roger Clark by phone on Monday, offering to explain key parts of this story and to ask questions for EPA to give a response. So in other words, over those 24 years the church donated an average of just $13.65 million a year in actual cash, while *valuing* the volunteer time of its members at $36.85 million a year. Just as in the Gospel Topics essay on Joseph Smith's polygamy, they are using carefully worded denials when they know full well that they are purposefully misleading their members (and the public) at best. 72, No. According to lead counsel for Mr. Nielsen, Michael A. Sullivan of Finch McCranie, LLP, the team representing Mr. Nielsen includes a former senior official of the SEC, more than one former federal criminal prosecutor, a former IRS Criminal Investigative Division agent, another former IRS official, and an international tax lawyer, all with decades of experience. The investment activity has been the subject of some curiosity as to how an otherwise low-profile religious organization can amass such a massive portfolio. Although Mr. Nielsen could have earned significantly more working for a traditional hedge fund, Mr. Nielsen accepted EPAs offer because he believed at that time that EPA actually supported the Churchs religious and charitable activities, the document states. Back to the article: Debates about Mormon finances and the question of transparency have persisted for decades but were triggered again in December by a whistleblower complaint filed by David Nielsen, a former portfolio manager with Ensign Peak, and reported by The Washington Post. The complaint added that Roger Clarke, the president of Ensign, claimed that the investment branch collected the funds in preparation for "the second coming of Christ." Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Roger Clarke, who leads Ensign Peak, has said that part of the reason the Church sought to conceal its wealth was to ensure continued tithing by believers. Latter-day Saints, like many Christians, believe there will be a period of war, hardship and natural disasters before Jesus comes back. 1. Ensign Peak Advisors employs 11 employees. Whether you're a believing member or have left the church, the only thing I can say is that if you want to continue tithing, follow the Bible and use the money to help those around you whether it's a children's program, a local animal shelter (always a favorite of mine), or a food pantry. 6 (November/December 2016), Available at SSRN: If you need immediate assistance, call 877-SSRNHelp (877 777 6435) in the United States, or +1 212 448 2500 outside of the United States, 8:30AM to 6:00PM U.S. Eastern, Monday - Friday. The vast majority of these funds areused immediately to meet the needs of the growing Churchincluding more meetinghouses, temples, education, humanitarian work and missionary efforts throughout the world. We take seriously the responsibility to care for the tithes and donations received from members, the church statement said. When we shut down critical thinking, it allows those who claim authority from God to abuse that trust over and over again, which we have seen from the days of Joseph Smith promising exaltation to marry the young daughters of early members through today with finances, interviews with children, or shutting down questions about church history. Deceptive statements: Nielsens document states that EPA was deceptive in describing its assets to regulators even after the stories broke in 2019 and the firm came under national scrutiny. Roger served as a professor for more than ten years on the faculty of the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' has a $100 billion portfolio, according to a 13F filing. The church calling the fund a "rainy-day account" is also laughable, because we can see the devastation around the world every day. But if church leaders truly believed that, why not be transparent with the members who are taking their hard earned money and funding the church's investment portfolio? This page was processed by aws-apollo-l2 in. I remember when I first got married how tight money was, and thinking that the 10% we gave to the church was not even needed makes me feel betrayed considering we added stress to our lives so that the church could pad their bank account. "In June 2019, the SEC first expressed concern about Ensign Peak's reporting approach," LDS said in a statement on Tuesday. It shows up increasingly in reports and press releases from those publicly traded companies. Roger Clarke, head of Ensign Peak (Wall Street Journal): "So they never wanted to be in a position where people felt like, you know, they shouldn't make a contribution". BYU Marriott School of Business. A closer analysis of Ensign Peaks latest disclosures show that beyond big name stocks, technology in a variety of forms accounts for up to 27% of all its shares worth nearly $13.3 billion. In other words, if Clarke is contending that he was misunderstood because money will likely have no value when Jesus comes back, does it make rational sense that money would hold value in the years leading up to it if the world truly falls into chaos? Financial Analysts Journal, Vol. Tax avoidance: Nielsens document claims EPA has not disputed his original allegations that 1) EPA engaged in no religious, charitable or educational activities in the entire relevant period, 1997-2019, and 2) EPAs only distributions over 22 years were for the for-profit operations of an insurance company and a luxury shopping mall. This was approximately $2 billion to fund classic private interests., Senate Finance Committee - by Paul Glader. EPA did not need cash from its investments to pay tax, private equity funds could rely upon EPA to leave their investments intact for the long term, the document said. He has reported from dozens of countries for outlets ranging from The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Der Spiegel Online and others. Church officials said the global faith, as a whole, gives about $1 billion a year to humanitarian causes and charities.". Harindra de Silva. David A. Nielsen, a former employee at EPA, says in the filing that the new memorandum contains more information than the document he submitted to the IRS Whistleblower Office in November of 2019 that was a placeholder submission and was given to ReligionUnplugged.com and other outlets by Nielsens twin brother, Lars Nielsen, in the fall of 2019. State audit alleges former Cache County prosecutors misused public resources, had side contracts without countys knowledge, Utah flooding resource guide: What to do before, during and after a flood, former top manager-turned-whistleblower claimed it had amassed up to $100 billion, how it helped fund the City Creek Center mall, the reserves are intended to help pay for operations in poorer parts. The Not-So-Well-Known Three-and-One-Half Factor Model. His document argues that EPAs tax avoidance gave it a distinct competitive advantage over other investment firms. The document alleges the firms cash-rich position and secretive, stable status made it a preferred investor in private equity institutions. Before that, the reserves were managed by the churchs Investment Securities Department, a top church financial official disclosed. See all articles by Roger G Clarke Roger G Clarke. . 212.744.6825, Research Coordinator Suggested Citation, 60 East South Temple4th FloorSalt Lake City, UT 84111United States, 555 West 5th Street50th FloorLos Angeles, CA 90013United States213-688-3015 (Phone)213-688-8856 (Fax), 616 TNRBBrigham Young UniversityProvo, UT 84602United States801-378-6065 (Phone)801-378-5984 (Fax), Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic, Finance Educator: Courses, Cases & Teaching eJournal, S&P Global Market Intelligence Research Paper Series, Subscribe to this free journal for more curated articles on this topic, We use cookies to help provide and enhance our service and tailor content. Court documents and Security and Exchange Commission filings shed additional light on how the church invests its money. For example, a combination of four fully invested factor sub-portfolios low beta, small size, value, and momentum captures less than half (e.g., 40%) of the potential improvement over the market portfolios Sharpe ratio. Note: ReligionUnplugged.com will update this story with responses from relevant parties. Huntsman, who owns the film distribution company Blue Fox Entertainment, is the son of the late billionaire Jon Huntsman Sr. and brother of former Utah governor and U.S. Presidential candidate Jon Huntsman Jr. Mr. Ensign Peak Advisors. So they never wanted to be in a position where people felt like, you know, they shouldnt make a contribution, Clarke said.". Harindra De Silva. Alongside that stream of new financial information, a few other cracks in the walls of secrecy around Ensign Peak are being widened in federal court. Wait, what? 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