Research Center
Select a Topic:
Featured
Private Equity | Private Equity Insights
Unconventional Thinking – A Reset of the Investment Opportunity in Upstream Energy
Featured
Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
A Closer Look at Private Family Foundations
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...
Stay connected with the Insights Blog
Featured
Governance and Policy | Podcasts
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 Moreeducational-endowments
Private Equity | Private Equity Insights
LP-Led Secondaries: The Core of the Secondaries Market
If one ever questioned whether LP-led secondaries were core to the secondaries market, one would only need to consider two factors: (1) the number of funds raised in a given year and (2) investors...
educational-endowments
Market Commentary | Insights Blog
The Trouble with Europe
As U.S.-based investors, our clients tend to focus on issues closer to home when evaluating portfolio positioning. Most conversations are focused on the political climate, FOMC actions, localized...
foundations
Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
Research Shows 10-Year Returns for Foundations Reach Highest Point
Our 2021 Council on Foundations-Commonfund Study of Foundations marked our 10th year in collaboration with Council on Foundations and the Commonfund Institute to measure, analyze and document the...
foundations
Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
Better Benchmarking: What Makes Your Institution Unique Matters
There is no doubt that benchmarking is a good practice for institutions to follow – we publish studies each year for various nonprofit sectors for that reason. While we think that benchmarking is...
educational-endowments
Manager Spotlight | Spotlight
Richard Turnley, III Chats about Channing Capital Management, LLC
Commonfund Director, Betsy Wilson, interviews Richard Turnley, III, Director of Channing Capital Management, LLC in this Commonfund Manager Spotlight.
educational-endowments
Risk Management | Insights Blog
Four Hot Topics of Operational Support
Middle and back office operational support is often considered the glue that keeps organizations on track. While perhaps not the most glamorous of topics, the oversight of accounting, tax reporting,...
educational-endowments
Investment Strategy | Private Equity Insights
Why Does Blockchain Matter?
We believe there is a generational platform shift underway in technology and its magnitude of impact could be as transformational as was the birth of the internet — and it is transparent,...
community_foundation
Perspectives | Press Releases
2021 Council on Foundations-Commonfund Study of Foundations Released
Security of Foundations’ Missions Strengthened by Good Investment Returns in 2021, National Study Reports
educational-endowments
Manager Spotlight | Spotlight
David Kim Talks About His Path to Becoming Founder of Ghost Tree Capital
Commonfund Managing Director, John Delano, interviews David Kim, Founder and CIO of Ghost Tree Capital in this Commonfund Manager Spotlight.
educational-endowments
Private Equity | Private Equity Insights
Investing into Energy Security
On February 24, 2022, Russia fired the first shots of its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, setting off a cascade of global changes that systemically altered the world order. The horrific humanitarian...
educational-endowments
Governance And Policy | Insights Blog
Key Governance Factors for Higher Education Prove to Be Quantifiable
A board self-assessment is one of the most commonly used tools to evaluate how effectively a board performs. The purpose of a board self-assessment is to help board members analyze their present and...
educational-endowments
Diversity | Insights Blog
Evolving Our Definition of Diverse Managers
Investing in diverse managers has evolved considerably over the last five years, catapulted by client demand, broad social concern over events such as the murders of George Floyd, as well as a...
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.