BOSTON, June 28, 2006 - In an effort to increase giving across the U.S., the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, an independent public charity with the nation's largest donor-advised fund program,1 today introduced the Charitable Investment Advisor Program. This program allows independent investment advisors to provide discretionary investment management to the Gift Fund for contributions made by the advisors' clients.
Through the program, advisors recommended by Gift Fund donors develop and implement an investment strategy for charitable contributions held in the Gift Fund. The Gift Fund Board of Trustees set guidelines for the qualification of advisors and for the investment of funds in the program. The Gift Fund will offer advisors access to a wide variety of investment options, including publicly-traded U.S. equity and fixed-income securities, Fidelity and non-Fidelity mutual funds, ETFs and other securities offered on U.S. exchanges. Qualified advisors can participate in the program regardless of whether they have an existing relationship with Fidelity.
"We recognize that more Americans are seeking comprehensive wealth management planning from professionals and that charitable planning is an increasingly important component of that plan, especially among the millions of Baby Boomers who are looking to give something back and leave a legacy," said David Giunta, president of the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund. "Through our new program, the Gift Fund can help donors and their advisors more effectively integrate charitable giving into the donors' overall financial plans by allowing donors' contributions to be professionally managed in a style that is consistent with the way assets in their investment portfolio are managed."
The program is available to Gift Fund donors who have a minimum of $1 million in a Gift Fund Giving Account®. Gift Fund donors continue to recommend grants from the Gift Fund to the causes they care about most.
The introduction of the Charitable Investment Advisor Program is designed to support the Gift Fund's mission of furthering the tradition of philanthropy by providing programs that make giving simple and effective. The new program follows several other enhancements recently adopted by the Gift Fund including administrative and investment fee reductions, the addition of third-party mutual funds to several investment pools and new pool choices.
Advisors Recognize Importance of Charitable Planning, But Underutilize
More than three-quarters (77 percent) of Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) say they offer charitable planning or advice to their clients, according to a recent Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund survey2. However, they provide this guidance for only 16 percent of their clients, less than half of the number many advisors themselves think appropriate (34 percent).
In this same survey, more than one-quarter (27 percent) of RIAs reveal that their clients' interest in charitable planning has increased over the past two years. To address this, nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of RIAs are planning to take action in the next five years, including 59 percent who said they would need to become more fully educated about charitable planning strategies and products.
"By initiating a dialog on charitable giving, advisors can gain a richer understanding of their clients' total financial pictures and can help their clients be more effective with their generosity-potentially bringing more money to charity," said Giunta.
Fidelity has nine regional Planned Giving Consultants and four Planned Giving Associates who are dedicated to educating advisors and their clients on the benefits of giving more effectively through the Charitable Gift Fund.
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Continues to Fuel Giving in America
Overall grants to charity from the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund surpassed $935 million for the 12 months ended May 31, up 27 percent over the same period a year ago. Contributions to the Gift Fund for the same period were $1.1 billion, up 27 percent year-over-year.
In a recent survey of the Gift Fund's donors, 66 percent said that their charitable giving had increased as a result of the Gift Fund. "Whether it's through new programs such as the Charitable Investment Advisor Program, or fee reductions, one thing remains constant-our commitment to helping increase the level of charitable giving across the U.S.," said Giunta. "The increase in grants and contributions reflects the continued generosity of our donors and further reinforces the value donor-advised funds provide to philanthropy."
About Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
The Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund is one of the nation's largest public charities and has the largest donor-advised fund program in the country3. The Gift Fund was established by Fidelity Investments® in 1991. The mission of the Gift Fund is to further the American tradition of philanthropy by providing programs that make charitable giving simple and effective. Since the Gift Fund's inception, more than 39,000 donors have recommended grants totaling more than $5.9 billion to more than 96,000 nonprofit organizations nationwide. For more information on the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, visit http://www.charitablegift.org.
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The Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund is an independent public charity. Various Fidelity companies provide non-discretionary investment management and administrative services to the Gift Fund. Charitable Gift Fund and the Charitable Gift Fund logo are service marks, and Giving Account, Lifetime Giving, Legacy Giving and Preservation Giving are registered service marks, of the Trustees of the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund. Fidelity Investments is a service mark of FMR LLC used by the Gift Fund under license.
1Chronicle of Philanthropy Rankings, 2005.
2Fidelity telephone and online survey of 507 registered investment advisors conducted by Richard Day Research of Evanston, IL from November 4 - 29, 2005.
3Chronicle of Philanthropy Rankings, 2005.