The NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments (NCSE) for fiscal year 2023 marks the 50th consecutive year that NACUBO has published a Study of the endowments of institutions of higher learning. It would not be an overstatement to say that the Study chronicled five decades of unparalleled change. The investment industry and endowment management have undergone profound change in thinking and practice—and that brings us to this document: a retrospective look at a select number of developments that have changed the course of endowment management.
The value of this 50-year “look back” lies in understanding how annual NACUBO Studies have served as beacons calling attention to the emergence of new thinking and actions demanding to be noted, watched and considered for their implications for each institution’s own endowment. Colleges and universities advanced into the vanguard of institutional endowment management out of necessity; now these endowments must continue to grow, stand the test of time and provide vital resources to support future generations. With the advent of digital currencies, the evolution of artificial intelligence and the sophistication of the financial markets ever deepening, no one can fathom what the next half-century holds for educational endowments. We do know that they will change. If they live up to the standards set by breakthroughs of the past 50 years, intergenerational equity should be secure.