The $84 million Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation in Winter Park, Fla., may add real estate to its portfolio. Michael Cross, treasurer, will present two or three different portfolio models at the May board meeting. The fund will also implement a new investment policy, including a growth goal for its assets.

Cross said the foundation has historically taken a conservative approach to investments, relying on a mostly passive strategy that has allowed it to match the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. "Our portfolio has always returned 8.5-9%," he said. "Over a 20-year horizon we think we could still return 8%, but when you include fees and expenses it's going to be cutting it close. So we have to look at how to add 120 basis points with a growth component."

The foundation made its first foray into alternatives in 2001 through long/short hedge funds, but the board was disappointed in the returns. The foundation still has a little exposure to a fund of funds, but most of its hedge fund program has been dismantled. The board is bullish about the return prospects for real estate, although it has yet to decide how much to invest. Although the fund has made some opportunistic real estate investments, it does not have a permanent allocation to the asset class. Cross is talking to a couple consulting firms that he declined to name about helping the foundation implement the changes.