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Investment Strategy | Videos
Investing in Real Assets and Sustainability
In a session hosted by the Commonfund Institute, Ethan Levine and Dan Connell, managing directors of CF Private Equity's real assets and sustainability team, discuss the importance of investing in...
Featured
Governance And Policy | Podcasts
Real Assets and Sustainability: Investing in a Changing Policy Environment
POPULAR ARTICLES
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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Featured
Market Commentary | Private Equity Insights
Private Markets Year in Review and 2026 Outlook
As we enter our 38th year, we write to share with you our year-end letter and observations of what may be ahead in 2026 in the private equity investment environment. Learn Moreeducational-endowments
Perspectives | Insights Blog
A Winter Wonderland of Books to Warm Your Soul and Inspire Creativity!
Commonfund Institute is excited to share our staff-curated reading list this winter, filled with stories that warm the heart and spark imagination. We extend our warmest wishes for a season filled...
educational-endowments
Governance And Policy | Videos
Beyond DEI Toward Reparative Care - Commonfund Coffee Talk
Beyond DEI Toward Reparative Care The second session in our Commonfund Coffee Talk 2023 series, foundation leaders discuss how institutions can use their power, move beyond baseline DEI, and toward...
educational-endowments
Investment Strategy | Insights Blog
Key Factors in Asset Allocation Decisions for Endowments
There are several broad subjects that an effective investment policy statement (IPS) should include in its contents and address clearly and specifically as they relate to an endowed institution. This...
educational-endowments
Governance And Policy | Videos
Meeting Mission through Investments - Commonfund Coffee Talk
Meeting Mission through Investments The first session in our Commonfund Coffee Talk 2023 series, foundation leaders discuss mission-oriented investment strategies, governance, implementation, and...
Market Commentary | Private Equity Insights
The Impact of the Rising Cost of Debt on Private Equity
As the cost of debt on private equity ("PE") has risen and its availability has fallen, deal-making within PE has slowed. PE firms that have historically been overly reliant on leverage in financing...
educational-endowments
Investment Strategy | Insights Blog
City of the Big Shoulders: Key Takeaways from our Chicago CIO/CFO Roundtable
For more than 50 years, Commonfund has been working with boards and investment committees to design and implement investment structures that support and maintain intergenerational equity - the...
educational-endowments
Market Commentary | Podcasts
Commonfund OCIO Point of View
Episode 1 In this episode we cover our macro-economic outlook, delve into public and private equities, the impact of higher inflation and interest rates on fixed income and credit strategies, as well...
Market Commentary | Private Equity Insights
Venture Capital Valuation "Marks": What’s in Your Wallet?
In order to underwrite new commitments in an uncertain market environment, it is critical to normalize valuation methodologies and deeply analyze underlying portfolio companies.
educational-endowments
Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
Increasing Use of OCIO Relationships Requires New Governance Considerations
More and more endowments and foundations are entering outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) relationships as long-term mission-aligned investing becomes mired in the complexity of rapidly...
community_foundation
Perspectives | Insights Blog
Viewpoint | Analyzing Community Foundation Data by Region
For the 2022 Council on Foundations - Commonfund Study of Foundations, we provided an analysis of community foundation data by five geographic regions. Community foundations lend themselves to this...
educational-endowments
Market Commentary | Insights Blog
Yield Curve Dynamics in Focus to Close 2023
After a relatively tame summer, significant cross-asset volatility has returned with both the MOVE and VIX indices increasing by 37 and 48 percent respectively, after approaching the lows for 2023 in...
educational-endowments
Investment Strategy | Insights Blog
Private Credit Today
On September 27th, Commonfund OCIO hosted an event in Minneapolis at the O’Shaughnessy Distilling Co. Following a tour and tasting at the facility, Nicole Melwood, Director, and Vincent Kravec,...
The New Era of Market Concentration