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Diversity | Articles

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...
Perspectives | Press Releases

2023 HEPI Report Released

Inflation for U.S. Higher Education Institutions Rises 4.0% in Fiscal 2023, Down from Fiscal 2022 Rate WILTON, Conn., December 13, 2023 – Data from the annual Commonfund Higher Education Price Index®...
Perspectives | Videos

FY2022 Council on Foundations-Commonfund Study of Foundations Highlights

In a recent webinar, Commonfund Institute and the Council on Foundations reviewed the highlights from the 2022 Council on Foundations-Commonfund Study of Foundations.

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Perspectives | Videos

Topline Findings from the FY2023 CSIS

Commonfund Institute review the highlights and trends from the recently released Commonfund Benchmarks Study® of Independent Schools (CSIS). Commonfund Institute's Allison Kaspriske, Director leads... Learn More
Responsible Investing | Insights Blog

DEI and Crisis Management: Staying the Course in Uncertain Times

The times we are living in are unprecedented. On March 11th, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the spread of COVID-19 constituted a global pandemic. Currently, in the U.S., the virus...
Governance And Policy | Insights Blog

10 Tips for Stewarding People Remotely

Six key words – Purpose, Policy, Process, Portfolio, People, and Perspective – form a framework for effective endowment stewardship. As trustees, investment committee members, and senior management...
Investment Strategy | Insights Blog

Coronavirus: Five Key Questions for Nonprofit Institutions

There is no question that we are in unprecedented times and will likely remain so for longer than we anticipated even a few weeks ago. The speed at which a new reality has been imposed on all of us...
Market Commentary | Insights Blog

Chart of the Month | A Price War Erupts in the Oil Market

Oil prices declined over 21 percent on March 9, 2020, the largest single-day decline since January 1991 during the Gulf War[1]. There was optimism prior to the OPEC (Organization of Petroleum...
Responsible Investing | Articles

Viewpoint | Responsible Investing Practices: Evolution, Not Resolution

In recent years, responsible investing has received mounting levels of attention from all quarters of the investment management field, from institutional investors large and small to global asset...
Market Commentary | Insights Blog

Market Commentary: Impact of the Coronavirus on Markets and Portfolios

After a strong calendar year 2019, the S&P 500 reached its most recent all-time high on February 19, up nearly 5 percent since the year began. Now, a week later, the global equity markets have fallen...
Private Equity | Private Equity Insights

How to Select a Private Equity Manager

Are you are considering investing directly with a private equity manager? If you opt to go direct, you will be tasked with selecting, managing and disposing the assets entirely on your own. It may be...
Perspectives | Articles

Optimize Luck

"Instead of just optimizing for skill, why don’t we optimize for luck? " Optimize Luck originated in a group discussion I facilitated for the Investment Institute, a membership organization for...
Private Equity | Private Equity Insights

Ardent Venture Partners

Commonfund Board Member, Michael Warren, interviews Phil Bronner of Ardent Venture Partners.
Market Commentary | Insights Blog

Chart of the Month | Central Banks Increasingly Accommodative

World markets appeared to be returning to their upward trend in the beginning of February after a volatile start of the year. While concerns about global growth caused by the coronavirus outbreak are...
Investment Strategy | Insights Blog

Long-Term Equity Investors: A Global Perspective

Over the past decade U.S. equities have consistently outperformed international markets, leading many investors to question the role of non-U.S. equities in their portfolio. While the current cycle...
Investment Strategy | Videos

A Global Perspective for Long-Term Equity Investors

Watch this short video on our Global Perspective for Long-Term Equity Investors. Over the past decade U.S. equities have consistently outperformed international markets, leading many investors to...