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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...
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 More
Is Venture Capital Going Back to the Future? Reemergence of the Power Law of Returns
The importance of manager selection is back.
2023 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Report
It used to be, in the not-too-distant past, that a CEO could just focus on the four corners of her or his business plan without consideration for the broader societal impacts of that plan. Not so...
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...
Investing in the Sustainable Evolution of the Industrial Ecosystem