USA Weightlifting

USAWF and USAW Investments with the US Olympic Foundation Mutual Fund
Revised 7/8/11

In April 2009 the Board of Directors of the Foundation deposited the full amount of the Foundation holdings, $235,781, with the US Olympic Fund. That non-profit pool or mutual fund, with investments from many Olympic sports governing bodies, is highly diversified in terms of the types of investments held. While the largest holdings are in the US stock market, there are also significant amounts in interest bearing bonds as well as in hedge funds and private equity holdings. While the stated objective is to provide growth in the valuation of the fund, the substantial diversification should add some additional stability. Nevertheless, it is likely that the value of the USOF mutual fund, and of course the value of the USAWF share in that mutual fund, will vary broadly in line with the US stock market.

The table below shows the value of the USAW Foundation by year-end from 2000 through 2010 and monthly from end-2008. Largely as a result of the rebound in the stock market (see the column showing the levels of the S&P 500 index, which is a broad section of the US stock market), the USAWF portfolio showed good growth in the months following the initial deposit, increasing from the initial deposit of $235,781 at end-April, 2009, to $296,061 at end-December 2009, a cumulative increase of over 25%.

In spite of some declines in the first half, 2010 was also a strong year for the US stock market. At end-December the S&P 500 was up 12.8% on a year earlier, and the corresponding gain for the Foundation’s investment in the USOF was 12.3%. The gains continued in the first four months of 2011. At end-April the S&P 500 index was up 8.4% from year-end 2010, and the Foundation portfolio up 8.0%. However, uncertainties arising over the strength of the US and the world recovery, along with continuing financial strains in Europe, resulted in pull-backs in global stock markets in May and June of 2011. The corresponding loss in the Foundation portfolio in May was 1.3%, but figures are not yet available for June.

The USAWF portfolio at end-May 2011 was valued at $354.4 thousand or a gain of 22.5% on a year earlier. The total gain in the Foundation portfolio from the initial deposit in the USOF mutual fund at end-April 2009 through May 2011 was 50.3%, or over $118.6 thousand. .

Included in the table is also a column showing the contributions of the USAWF to the budget of the USAW. Those contributions were very substantial up through 2007, and have to be taken into consideration along with the disastrous capital losses of 2007 and 2008. Because of those losses, it has been decided to forego any further contributions to the USAW budget as long as the value of the Foundation remains so depressed.

It should be noted that some of the reserve funds ('Rainy Day Fund') of the USAW budget have also been invested with the USOF mutual fund. This money, in the amount of $90,000, was invested at the end of July, 2009. As shown in the table, this investment likewise showed good gains, tracking those of the Foundation, and amounted cumulatively to $9,575 or 10.6%, through the end of the year 2009. In February, 2010, however, $25,000 were withdrawn from the Rainy Day investment with the USOF mutual fund and returned to the USAW cash holdings. In April 2011 an amount of $27,664 of the Rainy Day funds were re-invested in with the USOF.

At the end of May 2011 the total ‘Rainy Day’ investment was worth $116.2 thousand. The total dollar gain on that investment with the USOF from August 2009 through April 2011 was $23,565 (=116,229+25,000-27,664-90,000).