Hoagland, the chief investment officer, and his team were confident that Sirius could deliver superior returns. The HF investment team asks the investment committee to improve the expected return of the foundation's portfolio by changing this exposure to stocks, nominal bonds and TIPS using return overlay strategies. These strategies will allow HFs to take the excess return, or “alpha,” in the absolute return portfolio and cover it with the expected return on a balanced portfolio of long-term stocks and bonds. The third is to commit up to 5% of the assets in a global distressed real estate investment trust in which the foundation has invested in the past. HF used as a guideline the annual payment of 5.25% of the three-year moving average value of investment assets, which was roughly the same as the spending policy of other large private foundations. HF has changed its asset allocation policy following changing capital market assumptions and new investment opportunities. Previously, Hoagland had initiated a new asset allocation policy. The policy significantly reduced the allocation to U.S. public equities (from 50% to 30%) and significantly increased the allocation to foreign developed market equities, private equity, and real securities.