Leading Organization Adds HEPI to its Research Services Advancing Investment Knowledge and Best Practices in Financial Management for Non-profits

WILTON, CT, September 16, 2004 – Commonfund Institute, a leading provider of research to the non-profit industry, today announced that it has assumed management of the Higher Education Price Index (HEPI) from Research Associates of Washington, DC. HEPI, released each Spring, is an inflation index designed specifically for higher education and is a more accurate indicator of cost changes for colleges and universities than the Consumer Price Index (CPI).  It is used primarily to project future budget increases required to preserve purchasing power and is compiled from data reported by other agencies.  Commonfund Institute will oversee management and distribution of all new reports, reports dating back to the first in 1961, as well as the proprietary model used to calculate the report’s values. Commonfund Institute plans to continue to evaluate and refine HEPI as well as create subindexes.  It is planned to increase its distribution to institutions free of charge.

“Commonfund Institute is pleased to add HEPI to its resources on best practices in investment and financial management for higher education and other non-profits,” said John Griswold, Executive Director, Commonfund Institute.  “HEPI is an extremely important benchmark for college and universities.  It is a measure of inflation for their current operations, for budget hearings to justify the minimum funding requirement to maintain purchasing power, and as a guideline for trends in other expenses such as faculty salaries.”

HEPI measures the average relative level in the prices of a fixed market basket of goods and services purchased by colleges and universities each year through current fund educational and general expenditures, excluding expenditures for research. It is an essential tool enabling schools to determine increases in funding necessary to maintain real purchasing power and investment. 

“HEPI has been widely recognized as the only benchmark to effectively monitor changes in a higher education institution’s purchasing power,” said Verne Sedlacek, President and CEO, Commonfund.  “Many institutions have found HEPI to be a very practical tool in helping them successfully set important policies, including endowment distribution rates, and we want to ensure that it continues to be produced accurately and is widely available to the industry.”

Kent Halstead, the index originator, stated, “After compiling the HEPI for over 40 years, it is most rewarding to transfer publication responsibility to the Commonfund Institute.  The greater visibility and accessibility provided by the institute will well serve the higher education community.” 

For further information and a copy of the 2004 report, please click here.

About Commonfund Institute
Commonfund Institute was founded to house the education and research activities of Commonfund and to provide the entire nonprofit community with investment information and professional development programs. Commonfund Institute is dedicated to the advancement of investment knowledge and the promotion of best practices in financial management. Commonfund Institute provides a wide variety of resources, including conferences, seminars and roundtables on topics such as endowments and treasury management; proprietary and third-party research and publications including the annual Commonfund Benchmarks Study™; and events such as the annual Commonfund Endowment Institute and the Commonfund Prize for the best contribution to endowment investment research. Its broad range of programs and services are designed to serve financial practitioners, fiduciaries and scholars.  

About Commonfund

Founded in 1971, Commonfund is devoted to enhancing the financial resources of educational and other nonprofit institutions including endowments, foundations, healthcare and service organizations through superior fund management, investment advice, and treasury operations.  Directly or through its subsidiaries, Commonfund Capital, Commonfund Realty, and Commonfund Asset Management Company, Commonfund manages approximately $30 billion for more than 1,500 educational institutions, foundations, healthcare and other nonprofit institutions, representing one of the largest pools of educational endowment and operating funds in the world.  In response to the growing needs of nonprofit institutions, Commonfund, together with its subsidiary companion organizations, offers more than 45 different endowment investment programs including funds for the management of short- and intermediate-term operating cash reserves. All securities are distributed through Commonfund Securities, Inc.  www.commonfund.org

Refer this article to a friend