In early February, the Indiana Daily Student received a guest column based on financial documents obtained in a records request from IU. In addition to our typical process of editing and fact-checking, the IDS requested the same documents from IU to verify them. The request asked for investment snapshots from IU, the IU Foundation, IU Ventures or other investment-holding entities affiliated with the university for the last two available years. The documents the IDS received are not IU Foundation documents because the foundation is considered a separate entity from IU, according to IU General Counsel.
Though IU did not respond to multiple requests for basic information, such as what money was used for the investments, how much the bond was or if IU still held the bond, the IDS was able to find some context to the documents through its own analysis and conversation with an expert.
The IDS is waiting on records requests from IU for additional information.
The documents represent holdings from 2022 and 2023. Documents from 2024 were not provided, so it’s unclear if IU still holds the Israel bonds or any of the other investments listed.
The State of Israel sold the bond, which pays 2.75% interest, in 2020. It’s unclear if IU purchased it directly from Israel at the time or later in a secondary market. It matures in 2030 and has a face value of $1,000, which is a fixed amount the issuer will pay to the investor upon maturity. The document does not show how many units of the bond IU purchased or the cost per bond. It's also not clear what type of fund was used for the investments.
The reasons a person or entity may purchase Israel bonds is complex, ranging from simply diversifying their investment portfolio to a gift. For example, some Israel bonds are often gifts for births, bar and bat mitzvahs and weddings. Sometimes, bonds are purchased explicitly for the reason of supporting Israel or opposing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
Israel uses funds from bond sales to support its military action in Gaza, according to Bloomberg. However, some investors have shed their bonds due to the ongoing war.
In addition to Israel, IU’s investment snapshot shows multiple bonds purchased from Mexico, China and Russia, among other countries.
According to the document’s metadata, it was authored by Brian Moellers, Director of Investment & Financial Analysis at the IU Office of the Treasurer. When asked for more information regarding the documents, Moellers referred the IDS to Mark Bode, who did not respond to a request for comment.
