Investment Services RFP Q&A and Updates

Questions Asked

Find answers to the questions submitted about our Investment Services RFP. If you have questions that aren’t answered below, please email us at BCFRFP@bakesfieldcollege.edu.

We noticed that the $70 million in assets is inclusive of Endowed Funds, Expendable Trust Funds, and Quasi-Endowed Funds. Are there three funds that make up the $70MM total assets or does each of these three fund buckets include multiple funds? 

Yes, these include over 500 different funds. 

we noticed that there was a link included to the Foundation’s Fund Creation Policy. How frequently does that Foundation create new funds? 

That would depend on donor requests. On average we open between 10-15 funds per year.

Could you please confirm that all funds are managed to the one IPS that you shared?

Yes, they are.

Are there any points of contention with your current provider?

No, we usually go out for RFP’s every 5 years or so.

Who is your current custodian?

UBS

Do you plan to keep or change this custodian?

That depends on the selection during the RFP process.

What is the Foundation’s current strategy as it relates to ESG investing?

See current Investment policy included with original email or RFP posting

How many Firms were invited to participate in the RFP?

We advertised on BidNet and sent out emails to local firms.

What is your current fee structure?

Not sharing at this time

Could you please share a recent investment statement?

Not providing but we can provide a list of our current holdings. Click here for the list of Holdings.

Would you be able to share a copy of your current bylaws? This will help us better understand your governance framework, including whether the Foundation may fall under SEC Rule 206(4)-5 (“pay-to-play”).

Click here for our current ByLaws

We would also appreciate clarification on the importance and required timing of the Conflict-of-Interest form.

The Conflict of Interest form is a required component of the proposal package and should be completed and submitted with your proposal by the June 15, 2026 deadline. As the Foundation’s Finance and Investment Committee will begin its evaluation of proposals in July, it is important that all required materials be received by the submission deadline to ensure a complete and consistent review process for all respondents.

We understand that completing the attestation may require coordination within larger organizations. However, to maintain fairness and consistency among all proposers, the Foundation expects all required documents, including the Conflict of Interest form, to be submitted as part of the proposal package by the stated deadline.

We would also appreciate clarification on: Is your intention to understand (1) how many employees we have in the Bakersfield/Kern County region; (2) the size of our overall firmwide employee base; or (3) the staffing of the business functions that directly support university foundations such as BC Foundation? We are happy to provide any of these metrics.

The intention is to know how many employees will be assigned directly as support to our accounts.