Fidelity Pooled Income Fund

Unlike most charitable pooled income funds, which are offered by a single charity, the Fidelity Pooled Income Fund is a stand alone, publicly available fund. The fund offers a transparency that is unique in the charitable pooled income fund universe. The 2007 annual report lists the fund as having 706 accounts, with net assets of 84,061,061 dollars.

As is the case with all pooled funds, income earned by the fund is distributed to the income beneficiaries; the principle is distributed to the charity as a remainder interest at the death of the income beneficiaries. Donors receive a charitable gift income tax deduction on the discounted value of the charitable remainder gift.

Minimum Investment
All contributions to a pooled income fund are irrevocable. Fidelity sets the minimum contribution to its pooled income fund at $20,000. Additional contributions are set at a minimum of $5,000.

Costs
The Fidelity Pooled Income Fund incurs two levels of costs: the administrative fees of running the charitable trust; and the fund management expenses of the investment portfolios. The following table provides the administrative expense ratios for the fund.

The second table provides the expense ratios and allocation percentages of the mutual funds that fund the trust.

A donor will thus incur total costs ranging from 1.16% of pool assets for donors holding less than $500,000 in the pool; to an expense ratio of 0.89% for donors holding more than $2,500,000 in the pool.

Income and Beneficiary Options
The Fidelity Pooled Income Fund has, as a splint-interest charitable vehicle, two classes of beneficiaries: the individual income beneficiary(s} who receive a lifetime income from the fund; and the charitable remainder beneficiary(s) who receive the principal of the fund after the death of the income beneficiary(s). Income beneficiaries receive a quarterly distribution of the fund's income, and the beneficial interest can be taken in one of three options:
 * A donor can take the income interest as the sole beneficiary;
 * A donor can name a joint beneficiary and the two may take the income concurrently;
 * A donor may name a joint beneficiary and the two may take the income consecutively (at the death of one, the other begins to receive the income).

After the death of the income beneficiaries, the principle is donated to the charity remainder beneficiaries. Fidelity offers flexible remainder beneficiary options:
 * A donor may recommend that the remainder interest be distributed to up to ten IRS-qualified U.S. public charities;
 * Alternatively, a donor may recommend that a portion or all of the proceeds of the remainder interest be transferred to the Fidelity Gift Fund, the firm's Donor-Advised Fund, to establish an ongoing gifting program for those the donor designates to make grants over time from the Gift Fund to eligible charities.

Links

 * Fidelity Pooled Income Fund Fact Sheet
 * Fidelity Pooled Income Fund
 * Fidelity Pooled Income Fund Disclosure Statement
 * Fidelity Gift Fund Annual Report