2024 Landon Endowment Report
From the Chair
DEAR LANDON COMMUNITY,
As we reflect on the past year and look ahead to the future, we extend our deepest gratitude for supporting Landon. Your dedication to our endowment ensures that our mission flourishes both today and for generations to come.
We are pleased to share the 2024 Endowment Stewardship Report. As of June 30, 2024, Landon’s endowment grew 13.3% year-over-year to $27.3 million. Notably, this represents a doubling over the last ten years.
During the School’s fiscal year, global public stock and bond markets delivered strong financial returns. As a result, given Landon’s endowment is allocated 70% to global equities and 30% to global fixed income (with no private equity or alternatives exposure), it generated strong returns as well (+10.95%). This resulted in the endowment growing from $24.1 million at the beginning of the fiscal year to $27.3 million at year-end ($2.6 million was due to portfolio appreciation, while $1.1 million was due to donations and just over $543,000 represents the annual draw). This represents real growth (as represented by the HEPI or Higher Education Price Index) of 3.4% for the year.
The draw, which is the contribution that the endowment makes to the school each year, also increased in real terms to $543,532, marking an increase of 5.3% from the prior fiscal year.
Finally, Landon completed its recent capital campaign raising nearly $12 million for the endowment, which was almost $2 million more than its goal of $10 million for the endowment ($5.7 million came in the form of donations, while $1.7 million was in pledges and $4.5 million in estate gifts that are not yet included in the endowment value). We greatly appreciate your gifts to the endowment and respectfully request that you remember Landon during your estate planning process.
Landon’s endowment strategy remains focused on both the endowment’s long-term real growth and its annual draw. Although we are concerned about elevated valuations in the public stock markets, as well as inflation, we are confident that our strategic asset allocation, diversification, longterm endowment model, disciplined rebalancing, and inflation-adjusted banded spending model leaves us well positioned to achieve both goals for the foreseeable future.
Landon has been working with Vanguard’s Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) group since 2019. During this period, the School has benefitted from their global scale, expertise, and low fee structure. However, Mercer, a division of Marsh McLennan, acquired Vanguard’s OCIO business in March 2024. While our team leadership and fee structure remain the same, the investment committee has determined that the proper course of action given this change is to initiate a requestfor-proposal (RFP) process. As a result, Landon is currently in the process of evaluating various investment managers to determine which should manage the endowment into the future.
One of the most exciting and impactful endowment projects in 2024 was launching Landon Capital Management (LCM). LCM is a student investment club that is managing small independent endowment funds raised from alumni and led by longtime math teacher Bill Zaiser who is the current holder of the Maclear Jacoby, Jr Endowed Chair of Mathematics. These students are learning fundamental investing concepts that will last a lifetime and are getting exposed to the Landon Endowment early in their lives. Special thanks to Ted Lamade ’00 and Nii Amaah Ofosu-Amaah ’00, Endowment Committee and Board Members who spearheaded this effort. We think LCM is unique among our peer schools and was modeled after similar clubs at leading universities. Please read more about LCM at the end of this report.
Landon’s success in growing its endowment through philanthropy is a testament to its donors’ generosity and vision. On behalf of the Endowment Committee and the entire school community, thank you for your steadfast support. It is an honor to have you as a partner on this journey of stewardship and sustainability.
Sincerely,
Matt Holleran ’85 Chair, Endowment Committee Member, Board of Trustees
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
2023–24
Chair
William Magruder ’92
President
Jim Neill, P ’24
Vice Chair
Harmar Thompson ’90, P ’31 ’33
Secretary
Burnell Holland III ’01
Treasurer
Jeffrey Freed, P ’11 ’13 ’18
Trustees
Ali Al-Attar ’91, P ’32
Dwaine Alleyne ’00
Jeffrey Ansary ’92, P ’28
Kristen Best, P ’23 ’25
John Botti
Jean-Marie Fernandez, P ’24
Nicholas Freeman ’09
Debra Graham, P ’18 ’20
Laura Hoffman, P ’17 ’21 ’24
Matthew Holleran ’85
*Beverly Hudnut, P ’11
Ted Lamade ’00
Inger Rosner, P ’20 ’23 ’27
Thomas Scott ’85
Brooke Seawell ’65
Michael Voris ’95
Brien White, P ’26
Lisa Ellis Williams, P ’24
Peter Ventimiglia, P ’26
Trustees Emeriti
*Peter FitzGerald, Sr. ’50, P ’83 ’86, GP ’13 ’19 ’21
Knight Kiplinger ’65, P ’99
Larry Lamade ’65, P ’00 ’03
Jack Leachman ’69, P ’94 ’95, GP ’30
Samuel Lehrman, H ’09, P ’11
Rusty Lindner ’72, P ’15
“H” denotes Honorary “P” denotes Parent.
“GP” denotes Grandparent.
* Deceased
Landon’s Endowment
LASTING SUPPORT FOR OUR BOYS
Landon’s endowment is the lifeblood of the School. Unrestricted endowment gifts allow Landon to deploy resources where they are needed most. But the endowment also consists of individual funds established for a variety of educational purposes. The endowed funds are pooled together so the portfolio can be managed as one entity. The endowment is critical to minimizing tuition increases as well as maximizing funding for teachers and students. It is designed to keep the principal amount intact while using the investment income to improve the quality of education. The goal of the Endowment Committee is to maintain and grow the real value of the principal and the draw to continue to support the School and its mission. Endowment growth is the best way to ensure Landon School remains a top-tier boys school in the Washington metro area and nationwide, and our goal to increase the endowment depends primarily on philanthropy.
GLOBAL ENDOWMENT MANAGEMENT
Landon has been working with Vanguard’s Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) group since 2019 and the School has benefited from their extensive institutional resources and low fee structure. In March 2024, Mercer, a subsidiary of Marsh McLennan, acquired Vanguard’s OCIO practice. The team leadership and fee structure has remained the same. The Mercer team is led by a senior investment consultant, who provides quarterly investment updates to the Investment Committee and is accessible at any time between meetings.
GOVERNANCE
The Board of Trustees determines the investment and spending policies. The Board establishes investment objectives focused on generating the best risk-adjusted returns that will support Landon School’s financial needs, while preserving the endowment’s real purchasing power in perpetuity. These objectives are also balanced against the need for sufficient liquidity to meet the School’s annual spending draw.
The Endowment Committee is a standing committee of the Board of Trustees. It is tasked with advising the Board and Landon administration on matters relating to the School’s endowment. It also monitors how the endowment is managed, how the funds raised
Endowment Committee
Laura Hoffman, P ’17 ’21 ’24 – Vice president and treasurer of the Healy Foundation, a private grant-making foundation active in Maryland, Florida, and New Mexico.
Matt Holleran ’85 – Founder and managing partner of Cloud Apps, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm specializing in investing in the cloud business application market.
Ted Lamade ’00 – Managing director of the $1.2 billion endowment that supports the Carnegie Institution for Science, a scientific research organization based in Washington, D.C.
Bill Magruder ’92 - Partner at The Magruder Companies and President of Darnestown Management Company. Both firms are Maryland-based residential and commercial real estate companies.
are deployed, and procedures relating to key Landon policies. It selects and monitors investment manager(s) to ensure the endowment’s allocation, investments, liquidity, risk, and returns are within the parameters set forth in the Investment Policy Statement. The Endowment Committe also advises the Board on the spending policy.
The committee consists primarily of trustees (no fewer than three), one of whom is the chair. The committee may also include non-trustee members chosen for their relevant experience. The chair of the Board, the head of school, the chief financial officer, the controller, and the director of development are members ex officio.
Nii Amaah Ofosu-Amaah ’00 – Managing director at Berkshire Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm focused on investing in middle-market businesses.
Bijan Salehizadeh ’91 – Managing director at NaviMed Capital, a Washington D.C.-based private equity firm focused on investing in healthcare businesses.
Brooke Seawell ’65 – Venture partner with NEA, focusing on software, systems, and internet investments. He serves on the board of directors of NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA), Tenable (NASDAQ: TENB), Eargo (NASDAQ: EAR), GoodLeap, Malwarebytes, and Technical Communities.
Brien White, P ’26 – Chief operating officer for Brown Advisory’s U.S. private client, endowments, and foundations business.
2024 Endowment
MARKET VALUE
$25,000,000
$20,000,000
$15,000,000
$10,000,000
$5,000,000
The endowment utilizes a total return strategy, which represents a combination of both capital appreciation and current yield (interest and dividends). Landon’s chosen investment manager is tasked with achieving returns that equal (or exceed) the combination of Landon’s spending rate and the rate of inflation (net of fees).
Asset Allocation and Investment Performance
ASSET
ALLOCATION AS OF 6/30/2024
The Landon School endowment portfolio’s current asset allocation is shown here. The investment manager uses a diversified mixture of equities and fixed income. The asset allocation strategy is reviewed regularly to ensure the portfolio’s objectives are met.
% ANNUAL INVESTMENT EARNINGS
2024 Endowment Snapshot
ENDOWMENT CATEGORY
AS OF 6/30/2024
Growing the endowment is a priority. Landon’s $27 million endowment is less than half of the endowments at other leading all-boys schools. Endowment gifts produce income in perpetuity.
$100,000
SPENDING DRAWS
The Board of Trustees approves the endowment’s spending rate annually. In 2023, the Board of Trustees approved a formal endowment spending policy that takes into account various factors while remaining focused on the goal of growing both the long-term value of the endowment and of the endowment’s distributions. Actual returns earned in excess of distributions under this policy is reinvested as part of the School’s endowment.
This chart shows how spending draws are carefully managed so as not to draw from the principal of the endowment.
Wenchel Family Endowed Chair in STEM
KNOW THE WHY
Upper School Science Teacher Matt Johnson considers himself lucky that he knew what he wanted to do in life early on. For him, helping classmates and friends struggling with school get to that lightbulb moment was addictive. Becoming a teacher felt natural, as did his interest in STEM.
“I always liked algebra. Solving equations came naturally to me. Then, when I took physics in high school, I could apply math in ways that allowed me to make predictions about the natural world. I thought it was just amazing to be able to do that. It gave it a new purpose.”
At Landon, he wants to help his students become better critical and analytical thinkers. “Physics and applied math courses require them to think critically and deeply but also think about things analytically. I have an expression – know the why. My students hear that a lot. Why are we using this equation to solve this question? Why are we manipulating this question in certain ways based on the physical world to ultimately arrive at the answer? This kind of approach can help them in all aspects of their life.”
Success for Matt is knowing that the experiences students have at Landon are preparing them for their next stage. Recently, one of his former advanced physics students came
to visit during his fall break at college. Although he had struggled a lot in Matt’s class, he returned to thank Matt because it helped him learn how to better prepare himself for challenges in life. “That is the kind of feedback I want.”
ENRICHING STEM AT LANDON
When Brooke ’65 and Rosemary Seawell HA ’65 made a gift to create the Seawell STEM Center as part of the new Upper School, they inspired George Wenchel ’65 to establish the Wenchel Family Endowed Chair for STEM. The impact and potential of these generous gifts are changing the game for the science department and the students at Landon.
The Seawell STEM Center provides expanded space for labs and classrooms and modern equipment and technology. Teachers can set up their classes so that students can seamlessly transition from discussion and lectures to experiments and demonstrations. The result is a more dynamic and student-centered experience.
“It’s exciting to see what Landon’s great teachers will do with the new building and I hope that this endowed chair will further support their work with the boys,” said George. A portion of the income from the Wenchel Family Endowed Chair for STEM will support professional development for faculty teaching in those areas.
For Matt, being named the first Wenchel Family Endowed Chair in STEM is an opportunity to promote and expand the wonderful things that the STEM classes are doing. Funding is helping to support professional development for STEM teachers, and there has even been talk of putting together an annual STEM Conference at Landon.
“I certainly want STEM classes to be something the community thinks of when they think of Landon. This is an opportunity for me to better support that goal. I feel so grateful.”
Landon Capital Management
“Being part of Landon Capital Management has taught me invaluable lessons about investing responsibly as well as how to work with a multifaceted team.
Participating
in this committee has given me an opportunity to expand my investing experience while giving back to the school that has provided so much to me.”
Every day, faculty and staff are focused on ensuring students invest their time and energy in developing the skills and values that will help them build a successful future. In the fall of 2023, we were excited to introduce a unique avenue for them to continue that important work while also helping to ensure Landon’s enduring success.
Landon Capital Management (LCM) was established to provide interested students with the opportunity to manage a portion of Landon’s overall endowment while also offering them the chance to grow as leaders and thoughtful decision makers.
Participating students learn about investing fundamentals from teachers, alumni, and most importantly each other. They also learn the value of having a strong endowment.
When proposing the idea of forming a student-run and led investment fund, Board members Teddy Lamade ’00 and Nii Amaah Ofosu-Amaah ’00 wanted to replicate the fund structure found mainly at universities and apply it to Landon.
Bill Zaiser signed on to serve as the faculty advisor and mentor, and an application process was developed for Upper School students to apply to become members. A governance structure, bylaws, and investment policy statement were developed, and elections for fund officers were held. Generous donors contributed more than $25,000 to the initial fund, including a material seed investment from Craig Shapiro ’95. In January 2024, LCM was up and running!
Senior Taj Richardson was elected as LCM’s President. “I have a major passion for this group given that it provides an opportunity to give back to Landon and the chance to learn more about the world of investing and finance, an industry that piques many Landon students’ interest.”
The fund’s investment strategy is focused on financial prudence and investing in a diverse set of publicly traded equities of companies primarily within the United States.
LCM team members meet weekly to pitch and hear stock pitches, discuss its pipeline of new investment ideas, review fund logistics, and/or refine the bylaws, among other things. Throughout the school year, each team member made a minimum of one stock pitch, choosing the company based on their personal interest and conviction level. Student presentations were thorough, well thought out, and backed by both qualitative and quantitative rationales.
LUKE HIBEY ’25
Voting for companies took place through an online ballot, in which team members were required to include a brief reasoning regarding why they chose to approve a pitch or not. Decisions to invest or not required two-thirds of the team to approve.
EXCITING PROGRESS
In the first year, LCM has already made great progress. Highlights include:
y Selected 18 students to manage LCM’s first portfolio out of more than forty applications.
y Launched the first fund with over $25,000 raised.
y Quickly expanded to a second fund.
y Successfully managed initial investments in Vanguard S&P 500, Qualcomm, and Nike.
y Generated a return of close to 12% and is now valued at more than $31,000.
y Learned from several Landon alumni who spoke to the team throughout the year to share their professional expertise.
LEAVING A LASTING LEGACY
There are many ways to make a meaningful gift to Landon School’s endowment, such as cash gifts and pledges payable over a term of five years. Another popular method of giving is through a bequest.
A bequest is the most frequent type of planned gift. Your estate receives a charitable deduction for the full amount given, so your heirs pay no estate tax on the gift. You may choose to make:
STRENGTHENING LANDON’S ENDOWMENT
One of the most valuable parts of LCM is the opportunity it provides students to learn about the value of having, and contributing to, a strong endowment.
Landon’s endowment is an essential part of our ability to maintain and increase the support of our greatest assets – our boys and faculty. Continuing to expand these funds will help us to:
y reduce dependence on tuition;
y increase financial aid, making Landon accessible to a wider array of talented boys;
y continue to recruit, retain, and develop the best faculty; and
y enhance the educational experience for everyone.
a percentage bequest where you allocate a set percentage of your estate to Landon;
a specific bequest where you specify a set amount from your estate either in cash, a set allocation of securities, or a piece of real estate; or
a residual bequest where you allocate the residual amount of your estate after all other named beneficiaries.
Help us invest in the experience that will bring out their best.
gift to the endowment reaffirms our mission and supports our commitment and dedication to the students, faculty, and values that set Landon apart.