Rotary's Investments
Investments are critical to the sustainability of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation.
The Office of Investment is responsible for managing Rotary’s investments according to policies set by The Rotary Foundation’s Trustees and Rotary International’s Board of Directors. Through a commitment to stewardship and excellence, we seek to establish a legacy that distinguishes Rotary as a prudent investor, supports Rotary's objectives, and promotes sustainability.
Annual Fund
The Annual Fund is the primary source of funds that support The Rotary Foundation’s programs and areas of focus.
Contributions to the Annual Fund are invested for three years to generate earnings to meet the Foundation’s operating expenses.
To balance risk and return, the Annual Fund portfolio is invested with an emphasis on liquidity and income over capital appreciation.
The Annual Fund portfolio is 69% invested in fixed income securities and strategies that have a high income component, 16% in independent return strategies, and 15% invested in real estate.
The Annual Fund earned 4.9% in fiscal 2023-24.
Endowment
The objective of the Endowment is to provide a permanent and sustainable source of funding.
Contributions to the Endowment are invested in perpetuity and cumulative investment earnings are used to provide a permanent source of income to support Foundation programs.
The long-term nature of the Endowment dictates a bias toward equity investments because of the higher return potential in comparison to fixed income investments.
The Endowment should generate a higher rate of return over time compared to the Annual Fund, but with more variability in the returns from year to year.
The Endowment earned 12% percent in fiscal 2023-24.
Over the past five years, the Endowment grew from $482 million to $736 million and generated an average annual return of 7%. The rate of return is the total realized and unrealized capital gains, and interest and dividend income.
PolioPlus fund
The PolioPlus Fund has always been invested only in fixed-income securities (i.e., bonds) because of the need to protect and preserve the funds contributed toward the effort to end polio.
In the past, when the time horizon for both investment and grant-making was longer, the investment portfolio held longer-term bonds that generated higher yields.
The PolioPlus Fund portfolio benefited from the long cycle of declining interest rates.
Today, the investments are limited to short-term fixed-income securities because the Foundation is raising and disbursing funds within a short time frame as we get closer to reaching our goal.
The returns over the past few years reflect the low interest rate environment and the lower-risk, short-term nature of the investments.