Guidelines for Responsible Investing

Many factors may impact the long-term performance of your investments; that’s why it’s important to responsibly approach every decision regarding your funds. Our investment programs are designed to enhance your financial resources while taking into account, where appropriate or practicable with respect to a particular investment, the potential effects of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. These are at the core of the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). Commonfund is proud to be a signatory to the PRI since 2013.  

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Responsible Investing Framework

To help your organization form an approach to responsible investing and determine your priorities, we’ve developed a proprietary framework that includes public and private investment programs, such as:

  • Socially responsible investing (SRI) strategies
  • Sustainability and real assets strategies

 

Our Responsible Investment Policy
ESG-Roadmap

This image is for illustrative purposes only, with no guarantee that future programs will be offered. Subject to adjustments. This is not intended to constitute an offering of interests in any partnership, which will be made solely by means of a Confidential Offering Memorandum provided to qualified investors. For a complete description of the terms of these offerings, please refer to the Confidential Offering Memorandum which investors should read with care. Please see Important Disclosures. Any such offerings will be made solely through private placements to qualified investors, and will be made by Commonfund Securities, Inc., a registered broker dealer, and member of the FINRA.

Our Investment Implementation Process

ESG Integration

Training

Promoting ESG Considerations

Proxy Voting

Diversity

Given the diversified nature of our investment solutions, which vary across many asset classes, geographies and structures, we do not adhere to a singular or narrow approach to ESG, but rather, where appropriate or practicable with respect to a particular investment, incorporate such principles across investment philosophies and processes.

As Commonfund OCIO or CF Private Equity conducts due diligence on a particular investment opportunity for a fund it manages, whether it be an investment in a third-party investment advisor’s commingled fund or a more direct investment in the form of a secondary purchase or co-investment, ESG factors, where appropriate or practicable with respect to such investment, are reviewed alongside more traditional indicators such as the team behind the investment opportunity, the strategy that is being pursued, the investment process, past and potential future performance and investment terms. In such circumstances, they assess whether and how ESG factors:

  • Impact the investment opportunity
  • Impact shareholder, stakeholders and/or constituents
  • Reflect in the investment process and investment exposures
  • Contribute towards the risk profile of the investment opportunity
  • Can be reported and integrated

 

Best practices in ESG integration are continuously developing. That’s why we continuously reevaluate our approach to ESG integration through insight gained as a result of conversations with peers, involvement in industry working groups, and original research in partnership with our investment managers.

We were founded with the mandate to educate institutional investors on current best practices, which we provide through the Commonfund Institute. The institute serves as the center of our resource library, providing blog articles and white papers about ESG best practices, research about ESG factors, and events. The Institute also reports on responsible investing practices among leading nonprofits through the Commonfund Benchmarks Studies.

Commonfund OCIO and CF Private Equity engage with third-party investment advisors who manage commingled portfolios of securities within their respective funds. Those third-party investment advisors are generally directed to vote proxies on behalf of their clients in a way that is consistent with Commonfund OCIO's or CF Private Equity's respective proxy voting policy. Both policies note that TCF is a signatory to the PRI and that, as such, Commonfund OCIO and CF Private Equity, as the case may be, believes that ESG factors and RI can materially impact investment performance. Accordingly, Commonfund OCIO and CF Private Equity, as applicable, asks those investment advisors to consider whether ESG factors and RI are material to the investment performance of the company in question and, if so, to support proposals addressing such factors when those factors are material.

Launched in 2018, Commonfund’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office was created with the mission to intentionally promote and foster inclusion and equity across Commonfund and its investment process, thought leadership, and professional and organizational development. As part of our commitment, the Commonfund Diverse Manager Portal is designed to broaden clients’ access to diverse investment talent through the receipt and review of due diligence materials from diverse managers across all global asset classes.

Dedication to Risk Management

See Our Risk Management Philosophy 

Truly responsible investing is impossible without an effective risk management strategy. Learn more about our approach to risk management and the ways we strive to create a secure investment plan for your organization.

See Our Risk Management Philosophy 

Responsible Investing Resources

Responsible Investing

Four Things we Learned from Foundation Leaders

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Responsible Investing

Impact and Value-Aligned Investing - Commonfund Coffee Talk

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Responsible Investing

Presidential Veto Upholds Legitimacy of ESG Investing

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