The Armenian Church Endowment Fund (ACEF) recently welcomed Greg Amerkanian and Aline Khatchadourian to its Board of Directors, while acknowledging  the close of an eight-year term by legacy Board member Alyssa Keleshian Bonomo. Amerkanian and Khatchadourian will attend the upcoming November 22nd Board of Directors meeting at the Diocesan Center in New York City.

We are very appreciative of Alyssa’s outstanding contribution to ACEF during her tenure on our Board of Directors, and we look forward to her continued involvement as an ongoing member of the ACEF family, says Chairman Charles A. Demirjian. We are also very honored to have Greg and Aline join our Board, as their professional experience and financial acumen will be of the utmost value to the organization.

Greg Amerkanian, a Senior Vice President at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, has been a lifelong parishioner of St. Thomas Armenian Church in Tenafly, NJ, and joined the ACEF Board in January. His extensive experience in evaluating investments and their rate of return is the perfect fit for ACEF. Investment policy statements are critical in that they indicate whether or not the funds, and their managers, are meeting the organization’s financial goals and expectations, says Greg. Serving on the ACEF Board gives me the opportunity to help oversee the performance of the funds, with the end goal of ensuring continued financial growth and longevity for the Armenian Church and its programs.

Aline Khatchadourian, who also joined the ACEF Board in January, is a Certified Public Accountant, with previous positions as Director of Finance at both the Nassau (NY) County Legislature and the Town of North Hempstead, NY. I am proud and honored to be a part of this wonderful organization, says Khatchadourian. Part of ACEF’s unique strength is its ability to bring together funds from many different resources, thereby benefiting churches right down to the local level. Khatchadourian’s focus includes assisting with ACEF’s auditing process, as well as further tightening financial controls and increasing transparency.

After serving on the ACEF Board from 2010 – 2018, legacy Board member Alyssa Keleshian Bonomo continues to be actively involved in the organization she refers to as “vital to the Armenian community. Her father, the late Harry Keleshian, served 15 years on the ACEF Board from 1993 to 2008, and his service had a tremendous impact on Alyssa. I saw firsthand how seriously ACEF’s Board members take their fiduciary duties, and how their expertise represents the best in governance and business practices, she said. Among some of the notable initiatives Alyssa reflects upon during her tenure are the launching of the 2017 Annual Report, and the creation of the organization’s new brand identity, including its  website and logo. Yet, she is proudest of the ongoing creation of ACEF’s endowments and investment opportunities, which ensure long-term capital is available for Armenian cultural and education programs for the next generation. As a testament to their commitment and support of the Armenian Church, the Keleshian family recently pledged a lead-gift of $250,000 to the Eastern Diocese Our Church, Our Legacy Campaign, which is managed by ACEF. Armenian youth like my own children will continue to have a church that they can call home.  It gives me comfort to know that ACEF’s efforts make it possible for them to proudly carry on their Armenian heritage far into the future.

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The Armenian Church Endowment Fund is an independent, separately-incorporated, non-profit entity whose mission is to provide professional, highly disciplined, tightly controlled and cost effective asset management services to the various constituent parts of the Armenian Church, parishes and individuals who are creating a legacy through endowments.

The investment objective of ACEF is to earn sufficient returns through time to support stable and growing income distributions for each individual endowment fund to its designated beneficiary, while preserving and enhancing the principal balance of each such endowment fund. ACEF seeks to accomplish this objective by aggregating the individual endowment funds and investing them collectively in a broadly diversified portfolio managed by institutional quality investment managers.

BY STEVE NIGOHOSIAN