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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
Viewpoint | The Ever-Evolving 80/20
On average over the past decade, independent schools participating in the Commonfund Benchmarks Study® of Independent Schools have maintained an asset allocation that stays within a few percentage...
Stellex Capital Management
In celebration of Black History Month, Commonfund Institute Executive Director, George Suttles, and Commonfund Director, Nicole Melwood, interview Ray Whiteman, Managing Partner and co-Founder of...
Exploring Foundations’ Response to COVID-19
Earlier in February at the 2021 Yale Philanthropy Conference, our own George Suttles, Executive Director of Commonfund Institute hosted a panel which included Tim Yates, President and CEO of...
The Tech Effect and Direct Venture Growth Investing
The venture growth and late stage venture capital (“VC”) market has matured over the last 10 years, and direct investing has emerged as an attractive strategy for Limited Partners (“LPs”) to...
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...
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...
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...
Resource Management for College and Universities
William Massy has spent his entire career at the intersection of academia and administration, as a microeconomist; professor, dean and CFO at Stanford University; author; and now, an independent...
Mission-Aligned Investing for Endowments & Foundations