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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 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...
Investing in the Sustainable Evolution of the Industrial Ecosystem
CF Private Equity’s Real Assets and Sustainability team recently hosted a fireside chat webinar with the Noveon Magnetics CEO, Scott Dunn. Preceding this conversation was a brief overview of CF...
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...
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.
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.