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A Closer Look at Long-term Returns
In the annual Council on Foundations-Commonfund Study of Investment of Endowments for Private and Community Foundations® (CCSF; the "Study") data was collected on longer-term returns for the first...
Higher Education Price Index Forecast August 2025
According to Commonfund Institute's latest update, the HEPI forecasts a 3.7 percent inflation rate for U.S. colleges and universities in fiscal year 2025. The latest forecast, based on data through... Learn More
Investment Governance | Are You Asking These Three Questions?
In the midst of a global pandemic, many non-profit business models are being challenged which has put significant pressures on staff, governing boards and committees. These pressures on time and...
Foundation Spending Strategy – Meeting the Moment in 2020 and Beyond
This year has been incredibly difficult. One of the most contentious and turbulent presidential elections and transitions in American History. COVID-19 and the consequential social and economic...
Implications of Increased Spending for Foundations
In this Commonfund Xchange, Commonfund Institute Executive Director, George Suttles, moderated a discussion with two leading practitioners: Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation Chief Finance and...
A Financial Framework for the COVID Crisis
Despite the fall semester looking much better than the worst-case scenarios contemplated in early summer, higher education in America continues to grapple with the enormous challenges that the...
How to Measure Private Equity Investments
Private capital investors use a particular set of quantitative and qualitative measures to assess performance. While the standard benchmarks used for marketable securities are sometimes applied to...
Viewpoint | Meeting the Moment
Some foundations have responded to the call of mission by increasing spending in response to exceptional needs created by COVID-19. But there is a trade-off: the potential erosion of endowment value...
Marvin Owens, Senior Director, NAACP Economic Department
Founded in 1909 in response to the ongoing violence against Black people around the country, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is the largest and most pre-eminent...
Top Hedge Fund Investors - Ten Years Later
In July 2010, I published the book Top Hedge Fund Investors: Stories, Strategies, and Advice. My co-author and I interviewed nine leading allocators to hedge funds, including one Mark Anson, who...
Secondaries Market During the COVID Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the world in unprecedented ways. There is still much uncertainty including about when a vaccine will be ready and how schools reopening in the fall will...
Fiscal Year-End and Mid-Year 2020 Market and Investment Review
As we enter the new fiscal year, and Commonfund’s 50th year of operations, we leave behind what will likely be remembered as one of the most challenging and memorable fiscal years for the...
Cultural Institutions and the COVID-19 Crisis
Board members, investment committees, and senior staff are charged with the fiduciary responsibility to make informed decisions when guiding the investment activities of their organization. The...
Chart of the Month | Are Value Stocks Finally Going to Make a Run?