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                                                Private Equity | Private Equity Insights
                                              
                                              Unconventional Thinking – A Reset of the Investment Opportunity in Upstream Energy
 
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                                                Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
                                              
                                              A Closer Look at Private Family Foundations
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                                    Investment Strategy | Articles
                                  
                                  Mind the Gap: The Strategic Risk of Skipping a Vintage in Private Equity
Private equity (inclusive of buyouts, growth equity, and venture capital) remains a compelling long-term asset class, but recent periods of muted distributions and below-average returns have created...
                              
                                    Perspectives | Press Releases
                                  
                                  FY24 NACUBO-Commonfund Study Released
U.S. Higher Education Endowments Report 6.8% 10-Year Average Annual Return, Increase Spending to a Collective $30.0 Billion Annual NACUBO-Commonfund Study shows participating institutions spent...
                              
                                    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...
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                                          Governance and Policy | Podcasts
                                        
                                        Purpose-Driven Governance in the Nonprofit Sector
Join host George Suttles, Executive Director of Commonfund Institute in this episode of "Espresso Chats," a series by the Commonfund Institute serving up strong, short shots of governance and... Learn Moreeducational-endowments
                                            
                                             
                                            
                                                  Perspectives | Insights Blog
                                                
                                                Commonfund Forum 2024: 5 Key Takeaways
Commonfund Forum 2024 brought together 500+ attendees representing institutions with $890 billion in endowed assets in a 2.5-day conference. The event, themed “With Intention”, featured a...
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                                                  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
                                                
                                                Opportunities in Sustainability Private Investing
Global macroeconomic trends signal an increased level of investment in the climate and energy transition sectors, despite broader market volatility over the past few years, as investors aim to seize...
                                             
                                            
                                                  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.
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                                                  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.
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                                                  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...
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                                                  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...
                                             
                
More Than Multiples: Understanding the Broader Drivers of Equity Valuations
The S&P 500 has produced a ~25 percent annualized return for the three successive years ending September 2025, a banner period of performance.