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The Power of We: How Collective Learning and Data Sharing Make Us Stronger
In the midst of today’s volatile economic and policy landscape, collective learning has become not just beneficial but essential for institutional investors. The nonprofit sector as a whole is facing...
Policy Uncertainty Impacts All Assets (Not Just Equities!)
Since the February peak in the S&P 500, reams of newsprint have been dedicated to the volatility in the equity markets and to a lesser extent the U.S. Treasury markets – but what about the U.S.... Learn More
Commonfund on the Road: Insights from our Portland Roundtable
For over 50 years, Commonfund has been working with boards and committee members on designing and implementing an investment structure that supports maintaining intergenerational equity or the...
Foundation Leaders Highlight Successful Long-Term Investment Strategies during Turbulent Times
On September 27, 2023, Commonfund Institute hosted a webinar, “Highlights of the 2022 CCSF: A Deep Dive with Foundation Leaders.” The panel featured Elizabeth McGeveran, Director of Investments at...
Real Estate and Negative Leverage – The long and the short of it...
The recent rise of the U.S. 10-year interest rate will likely prove difficult for most real estate assets given that the historic inversion in the yield curve has provided some refuge from the sharp...
Lagarde Offers Little Comfort Amidst All Time High ECB Rates
Last Thursday marked the tenth hike of the European Central Bank (“ECB”) deposit rate.
Viewpoint | The Yin and Yang of Risk and Return
The conundrum of risk and return is that you can’t have one without the other. The key is finding the right balance for your foundation.
Bright Spots for Foundations in 2022 and Early 2023
In a period where individual giving was down, historic levels of inflation put pressure on markets and the real economy, private and community foundations were asked to provide more resources to...
Study of Foundations - Key Highlights [Infographic] 2022
In this infographic, we report the key highlights from the 2022 Council on Foundations-Commonfund Study of Foundations. For the year ended December 31, 2022, participating foundations reported an...
Are LP Secondary Transactions Racing to a Record Year?
In the 1st half of 2023, global secondary market volume was down 25 percent year-over-year (“YoY”), decreasing from $57 billion to $43 billion1. This was partially driven by the 24 percent YoY...
Foundations' Endowed Portfolios Produced Lower Returns in 2022
Longer-term results also eased, according to data from the annual Council on Foundations-Commonfund Study; despite lower returns, spending in support of missions held steady. Wilton, Conn. (August...
Global Currency Returns Diverge
A year ago, the dollar was approaching multi-decade highs as global currencies coped with the most aggressive FOMC hiking cycle of the last forty years.
Observations from the 2023 NACUBO Annual Meeting
Last month, I had the pleasure of attending the NACUBO Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL, where nearly 2,000 representatives from higher education institutions across North America came together to share...
Investing in the Sustainable Evolution of the Industrial Ecosystem