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Perspectives | Insights Blog
The theme for Commonfund Forum 2021 was “Transformation.” The objective of the agenda was to deliver timely, useful content on core subjects related to nonprofit endowment and financial management...
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Perspectives | Insights Blog
We recently hosted our first virtual Commonfund Forum. The event brought together institutional investors and faculty members from around the globe to engage in a two-day conference. Commonfund Forum...
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Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
The effects of COVID-19 have been felt across the entire nonprofit sector and the independent schools’ community is no different. For the Commonfund Benchmarks Study® of Independent Schools...
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Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
For the third straight year, Commonfund Benchmarks Study® of Independent Schools (CSIS) participants reported average new gifts to endowment declined, this year falling to an average of $1.2 million...
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Governance And Policy | Articles
On average over the past decade, independent schools participating in the Commonfund Benchmarks Study® of Independent Schools have maintained an asset allocation that stays within a few percentage...
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Perspectives | Insights Blog
For fiscal year 2020, independent schools reported an average return (net of fees) on their endowment assets of 2.8 percent. In this infographic, we report the key highlights from the 2020 Commonfund...
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Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
There are fundamental principles of effective endowment management that we have organized into what we call “the 6 Ps of Investment Stewardship”– Purpose, Policy, Process, Portfolio, People and...
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Perspectives | Insights Blog
For the year ended December 31, 2019, participating private foundations reported an average return of 17.4 percent while participating community foundations reported an average return of 18.2 percent...
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Governance And Policy | Articles
Some foundations have responded to the call of mission by increasing spending in response to exceptional needs created by COVID-19. But there is a trade-off: the potential erosion of endowment value...
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Investment Strategy | Insights Blog
In partnership with the Council on Foundations, the National Center for Family Philanthropy has released Balancing Purpose, Payout, and Permanence: A Strategy Guide. Commonfund Institute is very...
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Governance And Policy | Articles
William Massy has spent his entire career at the intersection of academia and administration, as a microeconomist; professor, dean and CFO at Stanford University; author; and now, an independent...
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Investment Strategy | Articles
The Council on Foundations has acted to support its members, their nonprofit partners, and the people and communities hit hardest by the impacts of COVID-19 by asking members to sign a pledge of...
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Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
The central document guiding the management of a nonprofit institution’s endowment—essentially, the strategic plan of the investment committee—is the investment policy statement (IPS). The IPS should...
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Responsible Investing | Articles
In recent years, responsible investing has received mounting levels of attention from all quarters of the investment management field, from institutional investors large and small to global asset...
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Perspectives | Insights Blog
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, independent schools reported a 5.7 percent return in endowment assets. In this infographic, we report the key highlights from the 2019 Commonfund Benchmarks...
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Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
A critically important asset for many nonprofit organizations is their endowment, sometimes referred to by a different name such as long-term investment fund. So important is this pool of financial...
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Perspectives | Articles
In this Council on Foundations-Commonfund Study of Foundations viewpoint, it's about analyzing and interpreting the data we've collected. What do they tell us? What trends are emerging? How are...
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Investment Strategy | Insights Blog
What is Gender Lens Investing? Gender lens investing has garnered significant traction in the last decade. Broadly speaking, it aims to achieve financial returns and benefit women. Given the breadth...
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Perspectives | Insights Blog
For the year ended December 31, 2018, participating private foundations reported an average return of -5.3 percent while participating community foundations reported an average return of -3.5 percent...
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Perspectives | Articles
Fiscal 2009 was an epochal year. In March, the stock market decline wrought by the financial crisis and Great Recession reached its nadir as investors sensed the worst had passed. With the turn in...
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Perspectives | Insights Blog
Schools participating in the Commonfund Benchmarks Study® of Independent Schools (CSIS) for the 2018 fiscal year reported an average return (net of fees) on their endowment assets of 7.4 percent. The...
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Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
Commonfund Higher Education Price Index (HEPI) data show that inflation for colleges and universities was 2.8 percent for fiscal year 2018, a decline from last year’s 3.3 percent but higher than the...
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Governance And Policy | Articles
Endowments, like the organizations they support, are generally intended to operate in perpetuity. To accomplish this goal, those responsible for endowments—trustees or directors—make decisions based...
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Perspectives | Insights Blog
Fifty-six healthcare organizations participated in the 2016–2017 Commonfund Benchmarks Study® of Healthcare Organizations. These organizations reported an average investable asset pool of $2.1...
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Governance And Policy | Articles
The calamities known as the financial crisis and Great Recession are now a decade in the past. But far from fading into history, the memories remain fresh. And we are reminded of those days regularly...
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Responsible Investing | Insights Blog
The new and newsworthy in this year’s Council on Foundations–Commonfund Study of Investment of Endowments for Private and Community Foundations® (CCSF) is headlined by responsible investing. No other...
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Responsible Investing | Insights Blog
The Challenges of Terminology There are a great many terms referring in some way to practices related to responsible investing: socially responsible investing; mission-related investing; impact...
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Investment Strategy | Articles
The benefits of diversity are widely recognized in the work place and among educational institutions and other nonprofits. Yet, the concept of investment management firms that are minority owned and...
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Responsible Investing | Articles
The subject of ESG, or investing in accord with environmental, social and governance principles, arose in several sessions at Commonfund Forum 2018. One session, in particular, was devoted to the...
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Diversity | Insights Blog
Commonfund recently hosted its 20th annual Commonfund Forum in Orlando, Florida. The event brought together 400 institutional investors from the U.S., Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Canada, Chile...
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Perspectives | Insights Blog
We recently hosted our 20th annual Commonfund Forum in Orlando Florida. The event brought together institutional investors to engage in a two-day conference to explore cyclical trends and tactical...
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Perspectives | Insights Blog
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, educational endowments reported a 12.2 percent return as the 10-Year return fell to 4.6 percent. In this infographic, we report the top findings from the 2017...
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Governance And Policy | Articles
Every year, the NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments® (NCSE) reports new data—on investment returns, asset allocation, risk management, donations and gifts, and much more. But some data points are...
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Perspectives | Insights Blog
Despite 12.2 percent return for FY2017, educational endowments report a decline in their 10-Year return while large institutions lead increase in effective spending rate Data gathered from 809 U.S....
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Governance And Policy | Articles
Since our founding in 1971, a core element of the Commonfund mission has been to provide insights on a broad range of governance, policy and investment challenges. An engaged governing board is...
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Outsourced CIO | Insights Blog
Once seen primarily as a solution for small institutions with limited resources, outsourcing of the investment management function is now widespread, with a broad range of long-term investors –...
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Perspectives | Insights Blog
For the fiscal year ended December 30, 2016, participating private foundations reported an average return of 6.4 percent while participating community foundations reported an average return of 7.3...
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Responsible Investing | Articles
Introduction In recent years, growing attention has been paid to the use by endowed institutions of so-called responsible investing practices. The three main practices — environmental, social and...
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Governance And Policy | Articles
Key Insights While opening opportunity to many New York families, the recently enacted Excelsior Scholarship Program will likely stress the financial resources of small private colleges and...
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Perspectives | Insights Blog
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2016, educational endowments reported a -1.9 percent return as the 10-Year return fell to 5.0 percent. In this infographic, we report the top findings from the 2016...
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Perspectives | Articles
How much does investment management cost? Fiduciaries, donors and stakeholders at endowed institutions have a strong interest in finding a good answer to this question, particularly in this era of...
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Perspectives | Insights Blog
Commonfund recently hosted its 19th annual Commonfund Forum in San Antonio Texas. The event brought together about 450 institutional investors from the U.S, Puerto Rico and Canada to engage in a...
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Perspectives | Insights Blog
As a result of the evolving landscape of the healthcare industry, organizations are increasingly being shaped by pressures affecting both the revenue and expense sides of the income statement. On one...
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Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
Successful investing for long-term funds requires a strategic plan. This is true despite – indeed, because of – the fact that the future is unknowable. The plan must be specific, embodying in...
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Investment Strategy | Insights Blog
Mounting cost pressures are forcing small and mid-sized nonprofit healthcare organizations to consider adopting endowment management practices similar to those used elsewhere in the nonprofit sector....
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Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
Endowed institutions differ in their missions, capabilities and resources, and investment policy statements naturally mirror these differences. In that sense, there is no single ‘right’ investment...
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Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
The structure of a board has an important influence on its effectiveness, and being cognizant of these matters is essential to improving a board’s performance. In this article, we’ll discuss four...
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Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
Excellent boards are made, not born. Achieving excellence in board governance requires success in four crucial areas: capable leadership, a sound organizational structure, attention to fiduciary...
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Governance And Policy | Articles
How long is the long term? A year ago, private and community foundations appeared to many observers to have recovered from the losses suffered in the 2008–09 global financial crisis. Double-digit...
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Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
With each state having its own court system, uniformity among the states did not exist. While there was agreement on basic common-law trust principles, variations still emerged. As the American...
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Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
Two important laws enacted in the last 15 years have had an impact far beyond the intent of their original authors, causing major, if little-noticed, changes in nonprofit governance. The...
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Investment Strategy | Insights Blog
In the current climate of slow global economic growth and resource constraints at many institutions, integration of ESG considerations in an organization’s investment portfolio may be perceived as a...
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Responsible Investing | Insights Blog
Commonfund and the Council on Foundations are thrilled to announce the release of the 2016 Council on Foundations – Commonfund Study of Responsible Investing. It is the largest and most detailed...
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Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
Discussions about whether responsible investing strategies help or hurt investment performance are complicated by the fact that, there are several broad categories of responsible investing practice...
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Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
An operating charity in the Northeast is in the process of implementing a risk-based investment policy for its $30 million endowment. The organization’s seven-member Investment Committee includes...
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Outsourced CIO | Insights Blog
There are three main factors an institution will need to weigh in deciding if working with an OCIO provider is right for them. Those are: Degree of Discretion: What role do the institution’s board...
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Responsible Investing | Insights Blog
The terms socially-responsible investing (SRI), mission-related investing, impact investing and environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing – all frequently grouped under the heading of...
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Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
Outsourced investment management, once primarily a solution for small institutions with limited resources, is now used by a broad range of long-term investors. When properly implemented, outsourcing...
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Perspectives | Articles
How long is the long term? A year ago, endowments appeared to many observers to have recovered from the losses suffered in the 2008-09 global financial crisis. Double-digit investment returns had...
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Responsible Investing | Insights Blog
A number of clients and prospects have asked how their Investment Policy Statement (IPS) can be amended to accommodate responsible investing strategies. In response, we have prepared a rider which...
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Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
Developments in world financial markets seem to occur more quickly every year, requiring ever-higher levels of expertise and experience on the part of investment committees. Climate change is a more...
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Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
The following methodology may be of use in helping you to understand more fully what your organization pays for investment management costs. Identify the fees you pay at the overall portfolio level...
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Outsourced CIO | Insights Blog
Nearly all CFOs and investment committees consider it. And more than ever are acting upon it: investigating the possibility of an Outsourced CIO (OCIO) to manage their institution’s investments. The...
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Governance And Policy | Articles
It is often said that we live in a world of change, but it is surprising how slowly that change can occur. Seven years after the onset of the Great Recession, many business school students are still...
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Outsourced CIO | Articles
Nearly all CFOs and investment committees consider it. And more than ever are acting upon it: investigating the possibility of an Outsourced CIO (OCIO) to manage their institution’s investments. When...
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Risk Management | Articles
Investment returns of less well-diversified portfolios have flourished in the accommodative market environment created by central banks. But what will happen when rates rise? In the last five years,...
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Investment Strategy | Articles
How have cultural, religious and social service institutions’ investment portfolios changed in response to the financial and market environment that has prevailed over the last several years? While...
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Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
The regulatory and legislative landscape continues to become more rigorous for nonprofit organizations. In an atmosphere of increasing calls for accountability, boards and senior staff need to take...
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Governance And Policy | Articles
Facing cost pressures and a new regulatory regime, healthcare organizations — especially those in the small and mid-sized range — should consider adopting the principles of the endowment model....
