Advising Committees
We are very fortunate to have the assistance of a diverse and deeply talented group of community leaders and investment professionals who volunteer their time and talents to ensure the strength of our Community Foundation.
Our Investment Committee is currently responsible for investing the funds of several of the state's leading organizations and charities including Utah Permanent School and Institutional Funds, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators, several of Utah's largest private foundations, The United Jewish Endowed Trust of Utah, and Intermountain Healthcare.
Our Professional Advisors Committee includes some of the state's leading estate planning attorneys, CPAs and wealth managers, and our relationships with firms extends from Logan to St. George.
"The Foundation bring new philanthropic tools to Utah." Barbara Ray, Vantage Point Advisors
The Community Foundation's Investment Committee sets the asset allocation of the Community Foundation' s investments, reviews investment performance, and has the discretion to add or change investment managers at any time.
Members of the Investment Committee
Sterling Jenson, Chair and member of the Board of Trustees, Regional Managing Director of Wells Capital Management, a unit of Wells Fargo & Company. Mr. Jenson is responsible for separate account portfolio management in the mountain region states from Idaho to Texas with combined assets of over $4 billion. Mr. Jenson has extensive experience in both investment management and financial services. Mr. Jenson is a member of the Board of the Hale Theater and an actor. He is the chairman of the National Advisory Council of the Marriott School of Management at BYU and a member of the Investment Advisory Committee of the Utah Permanent School and Institutional Funds. Mr. Jenson received a Bachelor's degree in Economics and an MBA from Brigham Young University.
Elizabeth Tashjian, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Utah. She is Director of the Garn Institute of Finance and a David Eccles Fellow. Dr Tashjian received her Ph.D. in Finance from Purdue University and her B.A. in Mathematics from Boston College. Her primary research interests are in corporate financial distress and futures contract design. She won the Marvin J. Ashton Teaching Excellence award in 1999 for her work in developing the University of Utah Student Investment Fund. She serves on the Academic Advisory Council of the Turnaround Management Association. Dr. Tashjian is Vice President for Education and Youth at Congregation Kol Ami and serves on the board of the United Jewish Endowed Trust of Utah.
Kent Misener is the Chief Investment Officer and treasurer of Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators and president and director of research for Crossroads Investment Advisors. Deseret Mutual Benefits Administrators is the employee benefits arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its affiliated organizations and manages its assets. Mr. Misener received his bachelor's degree in finance and economics and his MBA from Utah State University and serves on the Investment Committees of many organizations including Foundation for Education and Self Reliance and Intermountain Healthcare.
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Investment Management
Our funds are currently invested in a series of funds with Vanguard.
We have an exceptional (and growing) network of nearly 100 local professional advisors, including estate planning and corporate attorneys, wealth managers and CPAs. Our Professional Advisors Committee work closely with us to ensure that our services are of the highest quality, lead Continuing Education for local professionals, and help our donors meet their philanthropic goals.
Professional Advisors Committee
L. S. (Lee) McCullough, Chair, and member of the Board of Trustees is the Chairman of the law firm Callister Nebeker & McCullough, which specializes in banking, corporate, tax and commercial law. Lee's areas of practice include tax, estate and asset protection planning. Lee is a Fellow and State Chair in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), a member of the Utah State Bar and the American Bar Association and past President of the Estate Planning Section of the Utah Bar Association.
Brent Andrewsen, a shareholder with Kirton & McConkie's Corporate and Tax Section. His practice includes estate planning, probate and trust administration, gift taxation, tax exempt organizations, charitable trusts and foundations.
Bruce Olsen, a shareholder with Ray, Quinney and Nebeker. Bruce is a leader in Utah in organizing and advising nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations including some of the largest private foundations, universities, health care institutions, and charities in the State, as well as small exempt organizations.. Bruce is a leader in Utah in organizing and advising nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations including some of the largest private foundations, universities, health care institutions, and charities in the State, as well as small exempt organizations.
Stephen D. Swindle is a shareholder and Managing Partner of VanCott whose practice is focused on estate planning, probate, real estate development, professional corporations, non-profit corporations, acquisitions, tax planning and general corporate matters. Mr. Swindle is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in the areas of Corporate Law, Tax Law, and Trust and Estates and he was selected by his peers and recognized in Utah Business Magazine as one of the 2007 and 2008 Utah Legal Elite in the areas of Wills, Trusts and Estates Law.
Barbara Ray is CEO of Vantage Point, a boutique wealth management firm that serves as a Private CFO to high-net-worth executives and business owners in Salt Lake City and surrounding communities
