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Investment Strategy | Insights Blog
Performance and Practices of Smaller Institutions in the NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments
Earlier this year, Commonfund, in partnership with the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), released the 2025 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments (NCSE, or,...
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Governance And Policy | Podcasts
AI in Venture Capital: Separating Hype from Opportunity
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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
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...
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Investment Strategy | Insights Blog
Endowment Spending: The Increasing Role in College Budgets
Studies over the years show operating budgets are claiming a greater share of annual endowment spending. Is the most recent jump an anomaly or the new normal? Learn Morecommunity_college
Investment Strategy | Videos
Playing to Win
In this Forum 2019 general session, Commonfund experts share research into much of the conventional wisdom around institutional portfolio management, with some surprising results into which...
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Perspectives | Articles
Viewpoint: Looking Back, Moving Forward - A Decade of Insight from CSIS
Fiscal 2009 was an epochal year. In March, the stock market decline wrought by the financial crisis and Great Recession reached its nadir as investors sensed the worst had passed. With the turn in...
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Private Equity | Private Equity Insights
5 Steps to Success in Private Equity Investing
Investors participate in private equity markets for two main reasons: to pursue increased investment return and to add portfolio diversification. Even well-informed investors who are experienced in...
Private Equity | Private Equity Insights
Succeed In Private Equity Investing
Interested in exploring private Equity investing? Even well-informed investors can be uncertain about private market investing. In addition to possessing good public market knowledge and expertise,...
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Private Equity | Private Equity Insights
Commonfund Capital Closes 12th Venture Capital Fund at $432M
Commonfund Capital Closes 12th Venture Capital Fund at $432M Wilton, CT, October 5, 2018 – Commonfund Capital today announced the closing of its 12th venture capital fund, Commonfund Capital Venture...
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Governance And Policy | Articles
Viewpoint: The Long of It
Endowments, like the organizations they support, are generally intended to operate in perpetuity. To accomplish this goal, those responsible for endowments—trustees or directors—make decisions based...
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Governance And Policy | Articles
Viewpoint: The Gift of (Relative) Calm
The calamities known as the financial crisis and Great Recession are now a decade in the past. But far from fading into history, the memories remain fresh. And we are reminded of those days regularly...
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Perspectives | Spotlight
Rust College
Rust College: Where tomorrow’s leaders are students today In the wake of the Civil War, Rust College was founded in 1866 to provide an education for newly-freed slaves. Located in Holly Springs,...
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Mission-aligned Investing | Articles
Diversity and Emerging Managers
The benefits of diversity are widely recognized in the work place and among educational institutions and other nonprofits. Yet, the concept of investment management firms that are minority owned and...
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Investment Strategy | Articles
Inflation is Expected to Rise. How Can Investors Protect Portfolios?
In March, capital markets entered their tenth year of post-crisis recovery. For diversified portfolios, these have been some of the most profitable times, characterized by strong returns, positive...
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Mission-aligned Investing | Articles
Should Investors Be Concerned with ESG Investing
The subject of ESG, or investing in accord with environmental, social and governance principles, arose in several sessions at Commonfund Forum 2018. One session, in particular, was devoted to the...
Private Equity | Private Equity Insights
Brightwood Capital Advisors
Commonfund's Caroline Greer interviews Sengal Selassie, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Brightwood Capital Advisors in this Commonfund Manager Spotlight.
Market Insights: Record Highs and the Rise of Small and Mid-Caps