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Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
A Closer Look at Health Conversion Foundations: 2025 CCSF Results
Commonfund, in partnership with the Council on Foundations, recently released the 2025 Council on Foundations–Commonfund Study of Investment of Endowments for Private and Community Foundations (CCSF,...
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Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
Endowment Management: Building a Portfolio for Generations
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Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
Beyond the Benchmark: A Decade of Endowment Spending Rate Trends
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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
FY25 NACUBO-Commonfund Study Released
U.S. Higher Education Endowments Report Stable Returns, Increase Spending to $33.4 Billion in FY25 The NACUBO-Commonfund Study of 657 colleges and universities reports a 10-year average return of...
Investment Strategy | Videos
Understanding the Private Equity Secondaries Market
This Commonfund Institute Online video explores the evolving landscape of the private equity secondaries market, focusing on both Limited Partner (LP)- and General Partner (GP)-led transactions.
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Governance and Policy | Insights Blog
Your Crisis Playbook Needs Guardrails, Too
Why your governance needs stress-testing before the market does it for you Learn More
Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
2025 Policy Outlook: What Endowments and Foundations Should Know
On January 30th, Commonfund Institute, in partnership with the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), the Council on Foundations (COF), and the Council for...
Perspectives | Reports And Surveys
NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments
Request the FY2024 Study of Endowments to gain insights on investment strategies, governance, and best practices in higher education endowments
Governance And Policy | Videos
2025 Policy Outlook: What Endowments and Foundations Should Know
Looking back at 2024, uncertainty was the name of the game: inflation, interest rates, market volatility, emerging technology, recession potential, and geopolitical risks all played a role. As we...
Private Equity | Private Equity Insights
CF Private Equity Closes on Three Venture Capital Funds
Firm Closes Its Fifteenth Venture Capital Fund, Second Dedicated Venture Direct Fund, and First Dedicated Venture Blockchain Fund
Investment Strategy | Insights Blog
Determinants of Portfolio Returns – It Depends…
Asset allocation decisions have traditionally been associated with being the major determinant of portfolio returns. The Brinson, Hood, Beebower study of 19861 estimated that nearly 90 percent of...
Diversity | Insights Blog
Commonfund’s Investments with Diverse Managers Continue to Grow
Commonfund continues to build exposure to diverse managers1 as a source of return and diversification for our clients. In 2024, we closed the year with allocations to 50 different diverse managers,...
Perspectives | Insights Blog
Winter Wonders: Warming Reads for the Season
Commonfund Institute is excited to share our annual winter reading list, curated by our colleagues. These selections explore themes of personal transformation, resilience, and identity with stories...
Mission-aligned Investing | Insights Blog
Responsible Investing: Terminology and Background
In recent years there has been a rise in available investment strategies and governance considerations to help investors adapt to evolving challenges in the responsible investing space. Norms and...
Private Equity | Private Equity Insights
Edging Out the Competition – The Sector Specialist Advantage
Unlike the early days of private equity, when generalist private equity firms predominately relied on financial engineering to generate returns, today’s competitive markets require a much deeper...
foundations
Investment Strategy | Videos
Investing in the Creative Economy - Commonfund Coffee Talk
Investing in the Creative Economy In this Commonfund Coffee Talk, the Institute’s executive director, George Suttles, is joined by Upstart Co-Lab founding partner, Laura Callanan, to discuss impact...
educational-endowments
Market Commentary | Insights Blog
U.S. Trade Deficit Reaches Record High Amid Global Trade Shifts
As of September 2024, the U.S. trade deficit stands at $84.4 billion, marking the highest level since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. During that period in the conflict, the deficit...
The Housing Market Paradox