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5 Takeaways from the 2026 NACUBO Annual Meeting
If you've already read Inside Higher Ed's recap of the NACUBO Annual Meeting (held in Anaheim from July 18-21), "A Call to Meet the Moment at NACUBO,” you know federal policy uncertainty dominated...
Endowment Purpose and UPMIFA: What Nonprofit Boards Must Ask
Purpose | Principle I | Principles of Investment Stewardship The Question Every Endowment Fiduciary Should Be Asking For many nonprofit organizations, the endowment is the difference between... Learn More
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.
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...
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.
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...
Commonfund on the Road: Insights from our Seattle Roundtable
Commonfund OCIO recently hosted a roundtable luncheon in Seattle, WA, for local nonprofit leaders. During our time together, we discussed how institutions can attain intergenerational equity in their...
Mission-Aligned Investing for Endowments & Foundations