BOSTON, Jul 21, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Davlin Philanthropic Fund, the first no-load mutual fund that allows investors to donate to charity a significant portion of the fees typically paid for fund management, is now open to investors.
As with any SEC registered, open-end mutual fund, investors maintain control and ownership of their investments, receive all the income and returns, and pay fees for professionals to invest their money. But unlike any other mutual fund, the Davlin Philanthropic Fund allows investors to donate a significant portion of those fees to their favorite charities. (Investors should go to www.davlinfunds.org for detailed information and to purchase shares; or phone 1-877-DAVLIN8.)
Speaking at a press gathering at the Oliver Wendell Holmes elementary school in Boston, William Davlin, president of Davlin Fund Advisors, referenced the non-profit BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life) to dramatize the philanthropic benefit to investors in the Davlin Philanthropic Fund. BELL program students were among audience members.
"Davlin Funds enable what we have termed 'sustainable giving,' which means that investors can make a 30, 40 or even 50 year commitment to their favorite charities without giving up ownership of their assets or loss of return," said Davlin. "Ultimately, we hope to fundamentally change the landscape of philanthropy through the power of sustainable giving. If we can achieve a sufficiently large amount of assets, and reach our goal of efficiency in operation, we can together increase the magnitude of our investors' philanthropy."
For legal and operational reasons, the donations from the mutual fund will go to the Davlin Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit foundation. The foundation will, in turn, distribute these donations to charitable organizations with guidance from the individual investors.
The Davlin Fund is the first mutual fund managed by a non-profiting investment advisor, for the benefit of philanthropy, according to George McCully, creator of the Catalogue for Philanthropy and trustee of the Davlin Philanthropic Fund. In his new book, Philanthropy Reconsidered, Dr. McCully presents a comprehensive analysis of philanthropy and its current transformation for the future.
"The Davlin Philanthropic Fund is a perfect example of the current paradigm-shift going on in philanthropy, in which the IRS's traditional division between 'for-profit' and 'non-profit' corporations is dissolving. With this Fund, investors can 'do well' and 'do good' at the same time, with the same instrument. Young investors can build and compound wealth while also making long-term philanthropic commitments. This is an excellent idea, fully in step with the times, that investors will strongly support," McCully said.
In brief, Davlin Fund investors get every benefit they would derive from any other mutual fund, including maintaining ownership of the assets and all returns on the assets; plus they receive the additional benefit of being able to allocate to their favorite charities a portion of the management advisory fee normally paid to portfolio management companies.
Once the Fund achieves sufficient economies of scale, it expects to donate the majority of its advisory fee to the Davlin Foundation, which will in turn direct those funds to the charities designated by investors.
How it works
Where other mutual funds retain all of the management fees, the Davlin Funds will donate at least one third of the Fund's fees to a non-profit foundation that will then distribute the money to a charity with the guidance of the investors. In addition to these donations, the investment advisor, Davlin Fund Advisors, has agreed to forgo any management fee that could be deemed as a profit to the advisor. These forgone management fees will augment the donations already committed. For investors, this means they can continue to achieve long-term capital appreciation with their money while donating to a charity. For the charities who receive the funds, this means a new source of income not previously available.
"Once we have achieved a certain size and economy of scale, our goal is to operate at somewhere near 50 to 65 basis points, which means that we hope to donate somewhere between 85 and 100 basis points a year to charities," said Davlin.
The Davlin Fund will use a value style of investing in equities, using a qualitative approach. The minimum investment is $2,500 ($1,500 for IRA accounts). Shares redeemed within one year are subject to a 1.0 percent redemption fee.Sustainable Giving
"For charities, the Davlin Fund constitutes a new fundraising instrument and even a new source of income," McCully said.
"Properly developed among their family of contributors, the Fund could become a reliable income line in their annual budgets - almost like a group of annuities, providing income predictably, year after year," McCully pointed out.
Davlin's Idea
The idea of sustainable giving occurred to Davlin while serving as research associate with The Royce Funds. He refined the concept around a mutual fund. Later, as a successful investor in and co-founder of Burst Media Corporation, an internet advertising sales company, Davlin sought to lend his successful investment and management experience to a vehicle for growth and philanthropy for others. He spent the past year finalizing the concept and nursing it through regulatory bodies. Finally, on June 11th of this year, the Davlin Philanthropic Fund prospectus became effective.
Terms and Conditions
As always, investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of the Fund carefully before investing. The prospectus contains these as well as other information about the Fund. A prospectus may be obtained from www.DavlinFunds.org or by calling 1-877-Davlin8. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.
About the Davlin Philanthropic Fund
The Davlin Philanthropic Fund is the first no-load mutual fund that allows investors to make charitable contributions while maintaining control and ownership of their investment. The minimum investment is $2,500 ($1,500 for IRA accounts). Shares redeemed within one year are subject to a 1.0 percent redemption fee. The Davlin Philanthropic Fund is a socially conscious business with the mission of harvesting the power of mutual funds to create "sustainable giving."
"We believe that by creating a mutual fund where the investors get all the returns and their favorite charities get most of the advisory fees, we have created a tool that can offer the average person the opportunity to make a significant difference."
For more information, please go to www.DavlinFunds.org. or phone 1-877-Davlin8.
SOURCE: The Davlin Philanthropic Fund
Clarke Communication Group
Lynn Kettleson, 978-463-7952
617-512-5922 (mobile)
lkettleson@kettlesongroup.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008