Endowments and Foundations - Articles & White Papers
Institutional research and articles covering investing at university endowments, foundations, non-profits and charities. These papers will be of particular interest to university endowment CIOs and other senior endowment investment management staff. A number of white papers examine endowment asset allocation - examining the so-called "endowment model" pioneered by the Harvard and Yale university endowments, represented by a well-diversified portfolio with a relatively high asset allocation to alternative investments. Other popular papers examine trends in university endowment investing and other drivers of endowment asset allocation....
Other topics of inveterest to endowment CIOs include university endowment investment performance and the potential for endowment investments to impact the world positively, investing according to an ESG or SRI philosophy. A key challenge for university endowments, foundations and charities is to withdraw cash in a sustainable manner, and a number of reports look at sustainable "withdrawal rates". A number of broader investment concepts are considered from an endowment/foundation perspective, such as the outsourced chief investment officer (O CIO) model, risk management and active equity investment. Further research articles and surveys in this section cover issues related to endowment investment performance, investment risk tolerance, and strategies for nonprofit institutional investors. This endowment investing topics tends to be followed not just by university endowment CIOs and senior investment staff, but also by those who are seeking to market investment products to endowment funds.
Endowments face a unique set of challenges; their high return goals reflect a need to grow intergenerational equity while meeting ambitious spending requirements. At the same time, they have limited resources and face a broad opportunity set. Endowments have long been investment innovators, beginning with the formulation of…
Endowments face a unique set of challenges; their high return goals reflect a need to grow intergenerational equity while meeting ambitious spending requirements. At the same time, they have limited resources and face a broad opportunity set. Endowments have long been investment innovators, beginning with the formulation of…
The authors collect tax return data from all 311,222 public nonprofit organisations (NPOs) in the United States over the 2009-2017 period to study the asset allocation choices and investment returns of their endowment funds. One in nine public NPOs have endowment funds. The majority of funds allocate their assets…
Being an asset owner today can be mind-bogglingly complex. Life in the next 5-10 years will not get any easier. But there are practical steps asset owners can take to take control of many of their risks, exploit the opportunities out there and navigate the “Great Acceleration”. The key practical challenges for asset owners…
Hear first-hand how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted charities; with guest speakers Sally Bridgeland and Robert Bass talking about their experiences at NESTA, RAF Central Fund and Dreamflight. How do the differences between charities lead to different outcomes in market scenarios?
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has spent nearly $6 billion over the past 17 years trying to improve agriculture, mainly in Africa. To better understand how the Gates Foundation is shaping the global agriculture agenda, GRAIN analysed all the food and agriculture grants the foundation has made up until 2020.
This article is a summary of the findings from the 2020 NACUBO study. The authors review the state of endowments, focusing on returns based on asset allocation and endowment size.
While colleges and universities have faced several financial fissures due to the disruptions of Covid-19, their endowments have been a source of financial stability. Four key financial indicators tell this story: operating margins were compressed, tuition discounts grew, institutions borrowed more debt, and endowment…
This report compiles information on the 40 sustainably invested student-managed investment funds (SMIFs) engaged in The SIILK Network (IEN's student and faculty facing work), and highlights the assets under management, fund structure, and sustainable investing strategies used by student-managed investment funds.
Ten UK-based charitable investors formed a working group to explore perspectives on possible limits to and limitations of growth in economic activity and investment returns. Following a series of conversations with experts, they present their findings on how investment practices will need to change in order to be genuinely…
In this video, Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation shares his bold vision for the future of philanthropy. Since his arrival in 2013, he has transformed the foundation, refocusing its considerable resources and influence on moving philanthropy from generosity to justice. This task requires humility, moral courage…
For the third straight year, Commonfund Benchmarks Study® of Independent Schools (CSIS) participants reported average new gifts to endowment declined, this year falling to an average of $1.2 million from $1.5 million in FY2019. Moreover, new gifts declined for schools in each of the three size cohorts. This blog also…
Faith-based investing has been practiced in the U.S.for more than 150 years by believers from diverse religions. The S&P 500 Catholic Values Index and the S&P U.S. Catholic Values Aggregate Bond Index exclude activities by certain companies or governments that are not aligned with the Socially Responsible Investment…
Charles Skorina updates readers on the latest observations in the family office arena as well as a conducting a Q&A with Stuart Lucas, program director for the wealth management program at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and senior investment officer for his own family’s office.
Public pensions, endowments, and foundations will announce blow-out performance when returns are released this fall. With experience, history, and luck on their side, what should pension and endownment fund managers do to prepare for the future?
Donors want to give back and make an impact but avoid oversolicitation. Here are 10 questions donors might ask your nonprofit before making a donation.
America’s biggest donors gave a total of $24.7 billion to nonprofits in 2020. This year’s report features our analysis of the list and giving trends among megadonors in 2020. Foundations, colleges and universities, and donor-advised funds received billions, but charities that feed the hungry, combat homelessness, and serve…
