We are always willing to work with government regulators to resolve concerns and are committed to full compliance., Nielsens document claims the EPA firm was involved in a Klein conspiracy to subvert the lawful functioning of the IRS, through EPAs false and fraudulent statements in SEC and IRS filings, and other corrupt actions intended to conceal EPAs billions of dollars of income obtained through EPAs $100 billion for-profit investment business income on which EPA should have paid tax.. Other former employees said the firms war chest related to preparation for the second coming of Jesus Christ. And on to the article: "Latter-day Saint officials kept the size of the churchs $100 billion investment reserves secret for fear that public knowledge of the funds wealth might discourage members from paying tithing, according to the top executive who oversees 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. According to several rounds of clashing court motions, the legal dispute between Huntsman and the church hinges on whether up to $2 billion transferred from Ensign Peak and ultimately used for the City Creek Center mall and an ailing insurance firm were drawn from sacred donations or, as church leaders maintain, investment earnings generated from that initial giving. Church officials said the global faith, as a whole, gives about $1 billion a year to humanitarian causes and charities.". The original story was reported by the Washington Post on December 17th, 2019, and the Wall Street Journal did another dive into the Ensign Peak fund this past weekend. His document alleges that during its 22-year period, the EPA firm was never audited by independent auditors and had no audit committee. 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. Over many years, a portion is methodically safeguarded through wise financial management and the building of a prudent reserve for the future., The Wall Street Journal, which didnt cover the story until February 2020,made a unique contributionby visiting Salt Lake City and interviewing leaders of EPA and the church who confirmed the previous reporting ofReligionUnpluggedandthe Post. The Not-So-Well-Known Three-and-One-Half Factor Model. BYU Marriott School of Business. That the church implies that they created over a dozen shell corporations because they were afraid members would either stop paying tithing or try to replicate their investment scheme is abhorrent just as the church hiding their true history from members even in the year 2020. Unlike the Corporation, Mr. Huntsman is confident that these charities will actually use his donations for their intended purposes.. Hes on Twitter @PaulGlader. And do not forget that Prophet Joseph F Smith said this about tithing at the 1907 General Conference: "Furthermore, I want to say to you, we may not be able to reach it right away, but we expect to see the day when we will not have to ask you for one dollar of donation for any purpose, except that which you volunteer to give of your own accord, because we will have tithes sufficient in the storehouse of the Lord to pay everything that is needful for the advancement of the kingdom of God." Analytic Investors, Inc. Steven Thorley. It reported owning $27.8 million in shares in an index fund focused on companies in South Korea in late 2019, a stake that rose to $30.4 million by the end of last year. Ordinary taxpayers now see that, while they are expected to honor the tax laws, a double standard in enforcement exists with respect to a wealthy and politically-connected organization such as EPA, says the document from Mr. Nielsen. Religion Unplugged reached EPA's managing director Roger Clark by phone on Monday, offering to explain key parts of this story and to ask questions for EPA to give a response. 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. Ensign Peak's top stock holdings as of December 31 include Walmart, Microsoft, Apple, and JPMorgan. 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. As he grew disillusioned with leadership, the document says he eventually resigned on Aug. 29, 2019, and filed a document to the IRS Whistleblower Office in November of 2019. It's very similar to polls regarding impeachment - the more loyal you were to Donald Trump, the less likely you were to want witnesses or documents to be produced. Since that time, 13 quarterly reports have been filed in full accordance with SEC requirements.". 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. This week, Roger Clarke, the head of Ensign, told WSJ, 'Paying tithing is more of a sense of commitment than it is the church needing the money.' 'So they never wanted to be in a position. Religion Unplugged56 BroadwayNew York, NY 10004, Religion Unplugged is a production of The Media Project and a member of the Institute for Nonprofit NewsEIN: 83-0461425site design by Peter Freeby, Its initial filing revealed EPA had $38 billion in stocks and mutual funds, Jillian Cheney, The Banshees of Inisherin, Ireland, Catholic, forgiveness, Irish Civil War, Irish Catholics, Irish conflict, Oscars 2023, Oscars, Academy Awards, movies, movie review, Inisherin, Colm Doherty, Martin McDonagh, Pdraic, Siobhn, Analysis, Atheism, Catholicism, Christianity, North America, Opinion, Politics, Religion, Society, Clemente Lisi, opinion, church vandalism, Catholic church, journalism, objectivity, bias, media bias, abortion, LGBTQ rights, politics, recharge, Recharge, would rank among the top five hedge funds, received awards from Religion News Association, Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, an EPPY Award for best business reporting from Editor & Publisher, included among the top 25 religion stories of 2020, filed a federal lawsuit against the church, published a statement to its members and constituents worldwide and posted three short videos to YouTube, used immediately to meet the needs of the growing Church, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. . And the church claims to give $1 billion a year to "humanitarian causes and charities," yet they do not give details. EPAs change in approach is an admission by conduct that its more than 260 fraudulent SEC filings were improper and were acts in furtherance of a Klein conspiracy to defraud the IRS, by concealing its massive securities investment business, the document reads. Roger G. Clarke Staff members at EPA needed to be in good standing with the church to work at the investment firm in downtown Salt Lake City. And the funny part about the quote is that many church leaders thought they knew when Jesus was coming back, but they just happened to be wrong. We include specific empirical results that can be replicated as an exercise in data collection, programming, reporting, and analysis. Number of pages: 22 Posted: 09 Sep 2013 Last Revised: 05 Mar 2014. "God promises great blessings to those who pay tithing. The 74-page document filed with the IRS and obtained by Religion Unplugged shows that Ensign Peak Advisors, Inc. (EPA) owned assets under management grew to more than $100 billion from $10 billion . When you look at the details of the story along with the church's rationale for deceiving members, it quickly goes from dishonest to reprehensible. A post shared by Scottie Scheffler (@scottie.scheffler). 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.". And while that might not be against the law (there are questions of whether it's lawful to be tax exempt when you are not actively using the fund for charitable purposes), it is absolutely against their own definition of honesty. Put another way, the man who claims to be the lone prophet of God on this Earth is telling people in the poorest areas of the Earth that without giving the church (worth $124 billion in this one investment fund alone) 10% of their income they not only will never get out of poverty, but they will be denied exaltation for eternity. We covered this above so we won't rehash this much here. Its initial filing revealed EPA had $38 billion in stocks and mutual fundsat the end of 2019, including $1.5 billion in Apple and Microsoft. Cookie Settings. According to the head of Ensign Peak, Roger Clark the leaders were afraid that members would pay less tithing if they knew the church didn't need to use it for church operations as they claim. The church contends this is not illegal and I am not a legal expert, but I can say it looks awful when a church uses a tithing investment fund to bail out its for profit ventures yet has never spent a dime to help those who truly need it. Asia Pacific +65 6212 1000. So they never wanted to be in a position where people felt like, you know, they shouldnt make a contribution, Clarke said.". [Get more content like this in the Mormon Land newsletter, a weekly highlight reel of developments in and about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 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. Clarke did not respond to an email . The Ensign Peak Advisors office is located above a food court in Salt Lake City and doesn't appear in the list of companies at that building lobby. Ensign Peak Advisors ( email) 60 East South Temple 4th Floor Salt Lake City, UT 84111 United States. The financial acumen of the church and its members, often referred to as Mormons, is a significant attribute of a distinctly American religious minority that recently celebrated its bicentennial a 200-year history that includes persecution, resilience and ambition. 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 event of an economic or financial crisis. According to its first 2020 report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, filed months after allegations by whistleblower. ReligionUnplugged.com reporters sent emails and made phone calls to Nielsen and his lawyers as well as to members and staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance to ask about the status of the memorandum and a schedule for any possible hearings in Washington. Back to the article: Debates about Mormon finances and the question of transparency have persisted for decades but were triggered again in December by a whistleblower complaint filed by David Nielsen, a former portfolio manager with Ensign Peak, and reported by The Washington Post. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' has a $100 billion portfolio, according to a 13F filing. Along with the quarterly SEC filings, EPA appears to be more recognizable as an institutional investor in public companies now. I mean it's just so nonsensical that I can't believe they even try that line of thinking, but when you're caught with your hand in the cookie jar you say whatever you can to get out of the situation. You also can support us with a donation at Patreon.com/mormonland, where you can access gifts and transcripts of our Mormon Land podcasts.]. Instead we have talk after talk demonizing those with doubts, telling the poor that only tithing can get them out of the poverty cycle, and that they are as transparent as they know how to be. Steven received his Ph.D. in Financial Economics from the University of Washington and holds numerous awards for academic excellence including the Marriott School Outstanding Faculty Award. [4] In 1997, the investment division of the LDS Church was spun off into a separate legal entity named after Ensign Peak, a hill that overlooks Salt Lake City. 1907, 7) Ensign Peak Advisors' articles of incorporation confirm Ensign Peak is an arm of the Church of Jesus . And please email us if you disagree with our post - we welcome all comments! Paying tithing demonstrates obedience and love and helps strengthen our faith in God.". There is no faith promoting answer here which is apparent from their terrible answer here. In the document, he argues that holding EPA accountable will promote better compliance by religious and other nonprofits with tax laws and will discourage fraudulent attempts by other organizations tempted to abuse exempt status.. If something like that [an economic recession] were to happen again, we wont have to stop missionary work. Keywords: Portfolio Theory, Factor Portfolios, Factor Investing, Portfolio Constraints, Smart Beta, Suggested Citation: What member is going to be harmed by seeing that the church has a professionally run investment fund and then attempt to replicate it? EMEA +44 20 7330 7500. The document said it also had no nonexecutive directors or a board to which EPA had to report. If Jesus does come back, I can't wait to see his reaction when the leaders of the church that claims to speak exclusively for him explain that they hoarded all of the cash they could instead of helping the very people they are commanded to help in the very Bible they (incorrectly) use as justification for collecting tithing from their members in the first place. Roger has published a variety of articles and articles about tactical asset allocation and currency management. The Salt Lake Tribune gets straight to the point here, because this is a massive statement and acknowledgement by the Mormon church. . Nielsens document notes the media attention to the original IRS whistleblower document generated great interest from the public. The fund relies on a healthy share of so-called real estate investment trusts (REIT), which package landholdings into shares for sale. But when Clarke says the gains are "mainly from returns on existing investments," he is being careful not to say that those "existing investments" were made with tithing money. "Ensign Peak adjusted its approach and began filing a single aggregated report. We can prove that over and over again whether it's looking at DNA and the Book of Mormon, the Book of Abraham, or how Joseph Smith retrofitted the priesthood restoration or First Vision to establish authority. Note: ReligionUnplugged.com will update this story with responses from relevant parties. Wait, what? Sign up for our newsletter to get the inside scoop on what traders are talking about delivered daily to your inbox. Huntsman countered that tithing funds and earnings from those member donations were commingled at Ensign Peak. The Ensign Peak Advisors office is located above a food court in Salt Lake City and doesn't appear in the list of companies at that building lobby. Ensign Peak held $349,000 in shares in Beyond Meat, maker of plant-based meat substitutes, at the end of 2019, but that was down to $5,000 in June, making it the smallest holding in the portfolio. SEC filings and online finance sites show that EPA still has large stock ownership positions totaling billions of dollars in major companies such as Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc. A prominent former Latter-day Saint, James Huntsman, filed a federal lawsuit against the church, seeking to regain more than $5 million in tithing he gave the church over 25 years. The complaint alleged thatEPA, a nonprofit registered as a 501(c)3 and a 509(a)3 supporting organization, did not make charitable distributions but that it did send $2 billion to help two for-profit companies. Roger Clarke, the head of Ensign Peak, said: 'Paying tithing is more of a sense of commitment than it is the church needing the money' Clarke and other officials say the money is saved. The Mormon Church and its investment manager will pay a total of $5 million to settle charges with the US Securities and Exchange Commission over failing to properly disclose holdings in the church's massive investment portfolio. Even apologist Patrick Mason isn't trying to sugarcoat the juggernaut that is the church's excess liquid asset holdings, and the fact is that Harvard's endowment is actually being used to help people while the church's Ensign Peak fund has only been used to help the church's own businesses. Executive Director Roger G. Clarke currently serves as a research collaborator with Wells Fargo Asset Management (WFAM) Analytic Investors. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. There are many reasons that the church is losing more members today than they have since Kirtland according to church historian Elder Marlin K. Jensen, but one of the biggest is that even in the year 2020 and in the age of Google, they still refuse to be honest and open with their members. 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