Commonfund Benchmarks Studies

We believe members of the nonprofit community should have easy access to authoritative investment research that allows for comparison and insight to benefit future policies and objectives. In order to reach this goal, we partner with various organizations to conduct comprehensive surveys of the financial, governance, and policy practices of nonprofit institutional investors across the U.S.

nonprofit-investing

Study of Educational Endowments

Commonfund and the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) renewed their partnership for the 50th edition of the NACUBO Endowment study. This five-year partnership includes the annual development and publication of the NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments (NCSE), the preeminent analysis of U.S. college and university endowment performance. The study examines investment performance and management practices at hundreds of U.S. higher education endowments and foundations. The topics covered include:

Endowment values and inflows | Investment returns | Asset allocation | Spending | Responsible investing | Portfolio management and investment office

Study of Private and Community Foundations

In 2012, Commonfund and the Council on Foundations combined studies to create the Council on Foundations-Commonfund Study of Investment of Endowments for Private and Community Foundations® (CCSF). This study examines investment and governance policies and practices at hundreds of U.S. private and community foundations, representing, on average, over $80 billion in assets. The topics covered include:

Returns and Investment objectives | Asset allocation | Investment policies | Fund flows | Responsible investing | Governance | Board diversity

Read an overview of the findings in the most recent press release.

Study of Independent Schools

In 2005, we partnered with the NBOA to create the Commonfund Benchmarks Study of Independent Schools (CSIS). This annual report studies over 200 independent day and boarding schools across North America that represent over $12 billion in assets. Our study covers the following topics:

Returns and Investment objectives | Asset allocation | Investment policies | Fund flows | Responsible investing | Governance | Board diversity