Research Center
Select a Topic:
Featured
Perspectives | Private Equity Insights
CF Private Equity Announces the Final Close of its Fifth Co-Investment Fund at $187M, Exceeding its Target
CF Private Equity Co-Investment Opportunities V, L.P. held its final closing on January 12th, 2026 Norwalk, CT, January 13, 2026: CF Private Equity today announced the final closing of CF Private...
Featured
Market Commentary | Insights Blog
Year-End Update and 2026 Investment Outlook
POPULAR ARTICLES
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
FY24 NACUBO-Commonfund Study Released
U.S. Higher Education Endowments Report 6.8% 10-Year Average Annual Return, Increase Spending to a Collective $30.0 Billion Annual NACUBO-Commonfund Study shows participating institutions spent...
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...
Stay connected with the Insights Blog
Featured
Governance and Policy | Podcasts
Espresso Chats Season Recap
Join hosts George Suttles, Executive Director, and Amanda Novello, Sr. Policy and Research Analyst, in this episode of "Espresso Chats," a series by the Commonfund Institute serving up strong, short... Learn Morecommunity_college
Mission-aligned 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...
community_college
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...
community_college
Investment Strategy | 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...
community_college
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...
community_college
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...
community_college
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,...
community_college
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...
community_college
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...
community_college
Mission-aligned 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,...
community_college
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...
community_college
Risk Management | Articles
Risk: The Fuel that Generates Portfolio Returns
Risk management: the process of harnessing risk in pursuit of better investment returns In a broad sense, how should nonprofit institutional investors think about investment risk and risk management?...
cultural_organization
Investment Strategy | Articles
Viewpoint: A Different Kind of Climate Change
How have cultural, religious and social service institutions’ investment portfolios changed in response to the financial and market environment that has prevailed over the last several years? While...
Implications of the U.S. Arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro