Research Center
Select a Topic:

Featured
Perspectives | Index
Higher Education Price Index Forecast June 2025
According to Commonfund Institute's latest update, the HEPI forecasts a 3.7 percent inflation rate for U.S. colleges and universities in fiscal year 2025. The latest forecast, based on data through...
Featured
Perspectives | Insights Blog
Investment Stewardship Academy: Takeaways for Navigating an Evolving Landscape

Featured
Perspectives | Private Equity Insights
CF Private Equity Announces Leadership Changes
POPULAR ARTICLES
Investment Strategy | Articles
Viewpoint | Top Concerns for Community Foundations: Donor-Advised Fund Regulations
Potential regulations on donor-advised funds (DAFs) and their effect on the philanthropic sector was the most-cited concern among community foundations in this year’s Council on...
Perspectives | Press Releases
FY23 NACUBO-Commonfund Study Released
U.S. Higher Education Endowments Report 7.7% Return for FY23 While Spending More in Support of Their Missions 50th anniversary NACUBO-Commonfund Study shows participating colleges and universities...
Investment Strategy | Videos
Chief Investment Officers Share Their Thoughts at Forum 2025
Commonfund hosted its annual Commonfund Forum 2025, March 9-11th, in Orlando, Florida. The agenda included a range of sessions on relevant topics for institutional investors. This Forum Spotlight...
Stay connected with the Insights Blog

Featured
Market Commentary | Podcasts
Commonfund OCIO Point of View
Episode 7 In this episode we cover our macro-economic outlook, the markets have rebounded significantly, while concerns about tariffs have lessened. However, global growth has been downgraded,... Learn Moreeducational-endowments

Perspectives | Insights Blog
Forum 2024 Key Statistics [Infographic]
Commonfund recently hosted its 26th annual Commonfund Forum, March 10th-12th, in Orlando, Florida. The event brought together institutional investors to engage in a three-day conference to explore...
independent_school

Perspectives | Insights Blog
Study of Independent Schools - Key Highlights [Infographic] 2023
For fiscal year 2023, independent schools reported an average return (net of fees) on their endowment assets of 9.2 percent. In this infographic, we report the key highlights from the 2023 Commonfund...

Market Commentary | Private Equity Insights
Cash is Queen
2023 was the lowest year in 10 years for U.S. private equity distributions.1 Without the cash from exits, private equity investors are struggling to commit to new private equity funds. Lessons...
educational-endowments

Diversity | Spotlight
Grain Management: Three Questions with David Grain
Commonfund OCIO Managing Director, Paul Von Steenburg, interviews David Grain, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Grain Management in this Commonfund Manager Spotlight.
state_college_or_university

Perspectives | Insights Blog
Study of Endowments - Key Highlights [Infographic] 2023
For fiscal year 2023, U.S. higher education endowments reported an average return (net of fees) on their endowment assets of 7.7 percent. In this infographic, we report the key highlights from the...
educational-endowments

Market Commentary | Podcasts
Commonfund OCIO Point of View
Episode 2 In this episode we cover our macro-economic outlook, portfolio diversification and the role of hedge funds. Lastly, we give our perspective on the markets going forward.
independent_school

Perspectives | Press Releases
Commonfund Study of Independent Schools Released for FY2023
Independent Schools Report 9.2% Return on Endowment Assets for FY2023, Marking Reversal from Last Year’s -11.3% Loss Returns Rebound; New Gifts to Endowments Fall, Responsible Investing Tempers...
educational-endowments

Perspectives | Press Releases
FY23 NACUBO-Commonfund Study Released
U.S. Higher Education Endowments Report 7.7% Return for FY23 While Spending More in Support of Their Missions 50th anniversary NACUBO-Commonfund Study shows participating colleges and universities...
educational-endowments

Perspectives | Insights Blog
The NACUBO Endowment Study: A 50-Year Retrospective
Documenting a Period of Unprecedented Change 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...

Market Commentary | Private Equity Insights
Private Equity in 2024: Where Do We Go from Here?
2023 WRAP-UP 2023 marked a second straight year of lower deal volumes for private equity following the record-breaking activity of 2021. U.S. private equity aggregate deal value declined to $645.3...
educational-endowments

Market Commentary | Insights Blog
China Continues to Drag Emerging Markets into 2024
2023 marked the third year of drawdowns for the Chinese equity markets, reflecting a country still trying to emerge from the pandemic period. A combination of factors continued to hamper the once...
Opportunities in Sustainability Private Investing