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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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Governance And Policy | Articles

Top Five Questions of Nonprofit Fiduciaries

The turbulent start to the New Year has led governing boards, investment committees and staff to question what’s next for the markets and what they should do about it. Below are the top five concerns...
Responsible Investing | Articles

Impact Investing: Balancing the Best of Responsibility & Opportunity

Impact investing is showing growth around the world. According to the most recent J.P. Morgan/Global Impact Investing Network Impact Investor Survey, the number of institutional investors engaging in...
Governance And Policy | Articles

Viewpoint: Changing Our Minds

It is often said that we live in a world of change, but it is surprising how slowly that change can occur. Seven years after the onset of the Great Recession, many business school students are still...
Outsourced Cio | Articles

Multi-Asset Investing: Form Follows Function

The design axiom captures the purpose of multi-asset investing Interest in multi-asset investing is growing and the inflows confirm it: Institutional assets committed to multi-asset investing are...
Outsourced Cio | Articles

Of Apples, Oranges and Onions: Assessing OCIO Performance and Fees

Nearly all CFOs and investment committees consider it. And more than ever are acting upon it: investigating the possibility of an Outsourced CIO (OCIO) to manage their institution’s investments. When...
Private Equity | Private Equity Insights

Global private equity: what and why

What and Why An article in the previous issue of Insight sought to discern the difference between perception and reality in private equity investing generally, and included a companion article...
Perspectives | Articles

Smart money, crowded trades?

For investors building multi-manager portfolios, a look at an alternative hedge fund beta. Approaches to stock selection vary widely across the hedge fund universe, even among managers practicing the...
Risk Management | Articles

Greenhouse Effect

Investment returns of less well-diversified portfolios have flourished in the accommodative market environment created by central banks. But what will happen when rates rise? In the last five years,...
Perspectives | Articles

Working capital: challenge and opportunity

On campus, the thinking about operating asset management is changing with the times. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and Great Recession, liquidity was the primary concern on university...
Governance And Policy | Articles

Evolving Challenges in Nonprofit Governance

Commonfund recently convened an expert panel moderated by Myra Drucker (standing, left), Chair of the Board, TrustedPeer Inc. and former chair of the Commonfund Board of Trustees. The roundtable...
Responsible Investing | Articles

ESG: Principles for Responsible Investment

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are a topic for active discussion in board rooms. Here’s an update on Commonfund’s thoughts and actions and how ESG may relate to you. In general,...
Private Equity | Private Equity Insights

Private Equity: Perception and Reality

For a variety of reasons, some investors believe that private equity may have lost its edge as a key allocation for their portfolios. This perception may overlook reality. A closer examination...