The folks at at $372-billion-AUM (as of December 31) boutique, within a $2.4-trillion-AUM asset manager arm of a publicly traded bank, are teaming up with a historically black college and university (HBCU). The partnership involves a new share class of a $126-billion-AUM (as of yesterday) money market mutual fund.

Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick Howard University President

On Monday, John Tobin, chief investment officer of BNY Mellon Investment Management's Dreyfus Cash Investment Strategies [profile], and Laide Majiyagbe, head of financing and liquidity for BNY Mellon Markets, unveiled the launch of BOLD (Black Opportunity for Learning and Development) shares for the Dreyfus Government Cash Management Fund. The new institutional share class is available exclusively direct from BNY Mellon (including through LiquidityDirect), and every year Dreyfus will donate 10 percent of BOLD shares revenue (with a minimum of $300,000) to Howard's GRACE Grant (Graduation Retention Access to Continued Excellence). The BNY Mellon team is pitching the new share class as offering "liquidity with an impact."

The BOLD shares come with an expense ratio of 18 basis points, thanks in part to a fee waiver that BNY Mellon has promised to keep in place through May 31, 2023. (That puts them in line with the current expense ratio of the fund's institutional shares.) So, if all the fund's current shareholders converted to the new share class, that would translate into about $227 million in annual revenue, which in turn would translate into a $22.7-million donation to the GRACE Grant.

Majiyagbe frames the launch with the context of investors "increasingly seeking opportunities to make a social impact with their investment decisions." Wayne Frederick, president of Howard University, lauds the BOLD shares as "an innovative approach to social impact."

"Through this partnership in support of the GRACE Grant, investors will make a significant impact in the lives of Howard students who are dedicated to succeeding in higher education and in their respective fields but face financial barriers to completing their education," Frederick states.

"Partnering with Howard University to help empower the next generation of leaders is an honor," Tobin states. "This initiative is just the first step in a long journey with Howard and their graduates." 

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