Nonprofit Investors Anticipate Weakening Consumer Confidence to Cause End of Bull Market, Commonfund Survey Finds
Majority of Endowments, Foundations Expect Bull Market to End Within 2 Years
Wilton, CT, April 4, 2019 – Commonfund, a prominent asset manager for endowments, foundations and public pension investors with $25 billion in assets under management, today announced the results of its survey of 200 sophisticated institutional investors from endowments, foundations and public pensions in attendance at the 21st Annual Commonfund Forum held on March 24-26, 2019. Investors attending the conference represented $1.3 trillion in total assets. The survey results underscore the themes that drove discussion at the event, ranging from the challenges facing nonprofit investors in today’s late-stage bull market to the private capital strategies that offer long-term investors the greatest investment opportunity.
When asked when they expect the current bull market to come to an end, 46 percent of survey respondents said they expect it to end within the next year, while 32 percent believe it will last for two years and just 14 percent think it’s already over. Specific to the end of the bull market, 34 percent of respondents believe the primary cause will be weakening consumer confidence, followed by trade wars (18 percent), higher interest rates (17 percent) and the growing U.S. deficit (12 percent). Download the full press release.