Research Center
Select a Topic:
.svg){kind=icon}
A Closer Look at Long-term Returns
In the annual Council on Foundations-Commonfund Study of Investment of Endowments for Private and Community Foundations® (CCSF; the "Study") data was collected on longer-term returns for the first...
Higher Education Price Index Forecast August 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... Learn More
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...
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...
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...
Affirmative Action: Implications for Endowments, Foundations, and the Broader Industry
Affirmative action, a practice used since the 1960s to edge toward equity and address historical and ongoing injustice through higher education attainment, was struck down last month by the Supreme...
Three Fundamental Duties of Nonprofit Boards
It is essential that trustees of endowed portfolios hold themselves accountable to a set of standards in order to maintain sound governance practices. Fiduciary duty is an important part of the...
Markets Signal Higher for Longer Interest Rates
Market sentiment on bonds continues to trend lower, leaving the overall open interest in short-dated U.S. Treasury futures net short at an unprecedented level. There is the potential that these short...
Real Estate and Negative Leverage – The long and the short of it...