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

2025 HEPI Report Released

Inflation for U.S. Higher Education Institutions Rises 3.6% in Fiscal 2025, Up from Fiscal 2024 Rate Norwalk, Conn., December 11, 2025 – Data from the annual Higher Education Price Index® (HEPI) show...

Investment Strategy | Videos

Understanding the Private Equity Secondaries Market

This Commonfund Institute Online video explores the evolving landscape of the private equity secondaries market, focusing on both Limited Partner (LP)- and General Partner (GP)-led transactions.

Stay connected with the Insights Blog



Investment Strategy | Insights Blog

Is Spending Policy the Other “Free Lunch” in Investing?

We believe spending policy not only should influence strategic asset allocation but should be thought of as the other "free lunch" of long-term endowment investing alongside diversification.
Outsourced Cio | Videos

Video Guide to Investment Outsourcing

One critical decision nonprofit boards continue to face is how best to implement an investment policy. They typically face three options for doing so.
Governance And Policy | Articles

Writing an Outsourced CIO RFP

Once an institution decides to pursue the outsourced CIO or investment office option, it usually leads to the creation of a request for proposal, or RFP. Considering that the OCIO model is a...
Governance And Policy | Insights Blog

Why Governance Matters to ESG

According to the Financial Times “Investing within an ESG framework is now the fastest-growing segment of the asset management industry.” In line with this growth is the increasing number of...
Investment Strategy | Insights Blog

The Endowment Model Proves Its Worth (Again)

Unless you’ve been on a remote island with no Wi-Fi for the past nine months, you are well aware that it has been a rough start for capital markets. In fact, it has been a historically rough start to...
Governance And Policy | Insights Blog

Investment Objectives? Not Always.

The 2021 Council on Foundations—Commonfund Study of Investment of Endowments for Private and Community Foundations® (CCSF) marked our tenth year in collaboration with the Council on Foundations. The...
Governance And Policy | Articles

Seven Promising Practices for the Future of Higher Education

Even before the pandemic, the college/university business model was under scrutiny. With rising tuition costs outpacing living wages, and student debt burdens crippling students, institutions of...
Diversity | Spotlight

Michael Torres Talks about Adelante Capital Management

Commonfund Managing Director, Paul Von Steenburg, interviews Michael Torres, Chief Executive Officer of Adelante Capital Management in this Commonfund Manager Spotlight.
Governance And Policy | Insights Blog

Asset Allocation: Controlling for the Variables

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...
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...
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...
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...