The document says Nielsen left a financially lucrative career to work for EPA because he believed it was a worthy cause and organization. That case, brought by prominent former Utahn James Huntsman, sought at least $5 million in donations, interest and penalties, alleging the faiths top authorities fraudulently misled members about spending donations meant for spiritual endeavors on commercial projects instead. Ensign Peak reported in June it held $18 million in the Saudi fund and $58 million in the India one. According to its first 2020 report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, filed months after allegations by whistleblower David Nielsen and his twin brother, Lars, made headlines, Ensign Peaks value was reported at $37.8 billion in stocks and mutual funds. The issue is what happens before that. And as we're learning more and more each day, they are right to fear that, because if you're willing to approach their history and practices in the way you approach any other organization, product, or belief, you will realize that not only is the church demonstrably false, but it's actually not very good, either. Americas +1 212 318 2000. Whether you're a believing member or have left the church, the only thing I can say is that if you want to continue tithing, follow the Bible and use the money to help those around you whether it's a children's program, a local animal shelter (always a favorite of mine), or a food pantry. We take seriously the responsibility to care for the tithes and donations received from members, the church statement said. Ensign Peak Advisors, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints multibillion-dollar investment fund, has gone from operating nearly incognito 19 months ago to facing an uncomfortably hot spotlight. I remember when I first got married how tight money was, and thinking that the 10% we gave to the church was not even needed makes me feel betrayed considering we added stress to our lives so that the church could pad their bank account. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax This is a true 'liar liar pants on fire' moment for the church, and the leaders of the First Presidency are all in on it. Court documents in the Huntsman lawsuit have called it a hedge fund which holds in excess of $128 billion.. In 2016, "Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said that each year The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spends about $40 million on welfare, humanitarian and other LDS Church-sponsored projects around the world and has done so for more than 30 years." That result would also encourage fraudulent claims of exempt status within the tax-exempt sector generally, and by non-exempt religious organizations in particular.. From 1995-2020 he served as president of Ensign Peak Advisors, Inc., an investment management affiliate of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The LDS welfare fact sheet from 2009 shows in the years 1985 through 2009 (24 years), the church donated just $327.6 in cash donations but they also count $884.6 million in donations of "material assistance." Some of the stocks in which Ensign has invested millions include Apple Inc., Chevron Corp., Visa Inc., JPMorgan Chase, Home Depot, Amazon and Google, according to the article.". It had a $1.5 million stake in sports apparel maker Lululemon in early spring of 2019, but managers had drawn that down to $2,000 by the start of 2021. Carolyn Homer, a Latter-day Saint who lives in Virginia, told The Journal that after she heard about the money held by Ensign Peak, she resolved to tithe less and give more to other charities. For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, tithing donating 10% of ones income to the faith is more of a sense of commitment than it is the church needing the money, Roger Clarke, head of Ensign Peak Advisors, which manages the denominations investing holdings, told The Wall Street Journal. Just last year, Prophet Russell M. Nelson did a worldwide speaking tour where he told members in Africa that only paying tithing can get them out of the cycle of poverty. Originally I didn't plan on doing a write-up because it was all happening during the holidays and I just did not have time to write about it, but this past weekend's Wall Street Journal article really articulated what is so frustrating about the church's lack of transparency on finances, and what we've noted when looking at a lot of other troubling topics of Mormonism - they simply do not trust their members with honest, complete information on their history or finances. If we truly believe that the world is going to fall into chaos before the second coming of Christ, does the church really believe that stocks and bonds are going to hold value then? David Nielsen, the former Ensign Peak fund manager, said the tithing-fueled fund held at least $100 billion during his nine-year tenure there ending in 2019. Analytic Investors, Inc. Steven Thorley. And please email us if you disagree with our post - we welcome all comments! As we tend to do, we'll go through it in chunks to cover what the church is saying along with what they're not saying. EPA has always had billions in assets since its formation in 1997. Clarke, Roger G and de Silva, Harindra and Thorley, Steven, Fundamentals of Efficient Factor Investing (October 11, 2016). If something like that [an economic recession] were to happen again, we wont have to stop missionary work. Although the stories broke in 2019, the continued coverage and fallout was included among the top 25 religion stories of 2020 by the Religion News Association. We believe at some point the Savior will return. Steven Thorley Clarke told the Journal, We dont have any idea whether financial assets will have any value at all during a second coming. Nielsen was also someone who had experience on Wall Street, working at a major New York hedge fund for five years and obtaining an MBA at UCLA before EPA recruited him in 2010 as an investment portfolio manager. Back to the article: "The Journals exploration of church financial holdings included interviews with Clarke and top Latter-day Saint officials, including Presiding Bishop Grald Causs, the ecclesiastical leader who oversees the Utah-based faiths vast financial, real estate, investment and charitable operations. Penske Automotive Group, for example, released its quarterly earnings on Nov. 21, 2020, andnoted in its press release that, among institutional and hedge fund investors, Ensign Peak Advisors increased its stake in Penske by 2,651% and now owns 181,578 shares of Penskes stock, valued at $7 million. Analytic Investors, Inc. Steven Thorley. Since that time, 13 quarterly reports have been filed in full accordance with SEC requirements.". The Journal reported that some of the money comes from donations from church members, a practice also known as tithing in which parishioners must give 10% of their annual income to remain in good standing. "In June 2019, the SEC first expressed concern about Ensign Peak's reporting approach," LDS said in a statement on Tuesday. From the church's manual on honesty: "When we speak untruths, we are guilty of lying. Ensign Peak Advisors Jan 1995 - May 2020 25 years 5 months . as well as other partner offers and accept our, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our. (The Salt Lake Tribune) President Gordon B. Hinckley assured Latter-day Saints during General Conference in 2003 that no tithing money went toward the City Creek Center mall. State audit alleges former Cache County prosecutors misused public resources, had side contracts without countys knowledge, Utah flooding resource guide: What to do before, during and after a flood, former top manager-turned-whistleblower claimed it had amassed up to $100 billion, how it helped fund the City Creek Center mall, the reserves are intended to help pay for operations in poorer parts. The vast majority of these funds areused immediately to meet the needs of the growing Churchincluding more meetinghouses, temples, education, humanitarian work and missionary efforts throughout the world. The head of EPA, Roger Clarke, indicated to the Journal that EPA is a "rainy-day account to be used in difficult economic times." Some church leaders suggested the fund could be used in the . This was approximately $2 billion to fund classic private interests., Senate Finance Committee - by Paul Glader. There are few clues as to how directly involved church leaders are in Ensign Peaks moves, although officials over the fund have said they eschew debt in keeping with the faiths tenets and steer clear of investments Latter-day Saints consider objectionable, such as tobacco or gambling stocks. Shortly afterward, Ensign Peak sold it all, judging from its absence in recent reports. Beyond tech, Ensign Peaks top holdings read like a typical blue chip roster: J.P. Morgan, Merck, Berkshire Hathaway and Intel. The 90-page memorandum obtained by ReligionUnplugged.com and embedded in this story summarizes evidence of false statements, systematic accounting fraud, private inurement violations of the Internal Revenue Code and other federal statutes and a Klein conspiracy by Ensign Peak Advisors, Inc. (EPA) and others.. Church officials said the global faith, as a whole, gives about $1 billion a year to humanitarian causes and charities.". Ensign Peak, which manages $124 billion in investments cultivated from tithing funds, is admitting that the church doesn't tell its members about the fund because they know members aren't going to keep paying tithing if they knew the church is sitting on so much money that they could cover every administrative cost for the church with the yearly gains and still have billions left over in gains each year to grow the account. The fund held $885 million in REIT shares as of June, along with another $750 million in index funds, whose gains and losses are wired to overall market trends. BYU Marriott School of Business. A closer analysis of Ensign Peaks latest disclosures show that beyond big name stocks, technology in a variety of forms accounts for up to 27% of all its shares worth nearly $13.3 billion. When Mr. Nielsen became aware that EPA served no charitable or religious purpose, and that EPAs management led to assets going missing within EPA, he attempted to correct these problems, the document says. Aseries of storiesby ReligionUnplugged.com in December of 2019 revealed a whistleblower complaint filed with the Internal Revenue Service that alleged The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints funneled member tithes into EPA, a nonprofit supporting organization controlled by the church, and amassed more than $100 billion in owned assets under management over 23 years. Jenna Ayala The church responded that Nielsens assertions amounted to hearsay and supplied its own sworn statement from Clarke, who was president and managing director over Ensign Peak from its 1997 founding until he retired in May 2020. Suggested Citation, 60 East South Temple4th FloorSalt Lake City, UT 84111United States, 555 West 5th Street50th FloorLos Angeles, CA 90013United States213-688-3015 (Phone)213-688-8856 (Fax), 616 TNRBBrigham Young UniversityProvo, UT 84602United States801-378-6065 (Phone)801-378-5984 (Fax), Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic, Finance Educator: Courses, Cases & Teaching eJournal, S&P Global Market Intelligence Research Paper Series, Subscribe to this free journal for more curated articles on this topic, We use cookies to help provide and enhance our service and tailor content. See all articles by Roger G Clarke Roger G Clarke. Isnt amassing wealth and then saving it the equivalent of burying talents, that Christ condemned in the biblical parable? Miner asked. In the same late 2020 window, Ensign Peak bought shares in index funds targeting Saudi Arabia and India, to the tune of $3.3 million and $12.6 million, respectively. And while we can point to a laundry list of items that show this church is not true, this is a big reason you know that the church is not good. Its holdings dwarf those ofendowments at any university,such as Stanford, Harvard or Yale. Lawrence Harris Back to the article: "The church cant predict when the next 2008 is going to take place, Christopher Waddell, second counselor in the faiths Presiding Bishopric, told The Journal. I will never claim to speak for Jesus, but it's beyond clear that the leaders of this church never have either whether it's claiming God called the Native Americans Lamanites from Israel, that dark skin is a curse from God, or that God changed his mind in just 3.5 years on treating LGBT members as apostates. In the document, he estimates that his former employer has evaded payments of more than $20 billion in taxes and concealed foreign accounts that should total $2 billion in penalties. Ensign Peak Advisors. After The Post piece, Patrick Mason, head of Mormon studies at Utah State University, told The Salt Lake Tribune that stories like this will undoubtedly trouble many church members and lead them to wonder whether their charitable giving is best directed toward an institution that reportedly has a stockpile twice as large as Harvards endowment.. 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