Calendar year 2025 was another year of strong absolute performance for foundation portfolios. It was the third straight year that the foundation median returned double-digit percentage points, and the trailing three-year return was one of the best across the historical record. Meanwhile, the strong bull market in public equities resulted in an investment environment where diversified portfolios struggled to keep up with a simple blended index. Longer-term peer ranking were also less dependent upon private investment allocations than in past years. This section highlights performance results across both short- and long-term trailing periods.

The choice of benchmark for private equity and venture capital (PE/VC) continued to be the most impactful decision when evaluating a foundation’s investment return versus its policy portfolio benchmark. In recent years where public equity markets have outperformed private strategies, the use of a public index to represent PE/VC in a benchmark would have resulted in a high bar for a diversified portfolio to clear. This section summarizes the various approaches that foundations use for benchmarking total portfolio returns and compares performance versus policy benchmarks.

The increase in private equity allocations was the key trend in asset allocations over the first part of the past decade, but shifts in allocations since 2022 have been comparatively more muted. A welcome development in 2025 was that a majority of foundations reported distributions from private investment funds exceeded the amount of capital calls paid in, which was the first time that this net cash flow metric was positive since 2021. This section covers these developments and other topics related to portfolio implementation.

The Foundation Annual Flash Statistics Report provides a first look at the results of our 2025 Foundation Annual Investment Pool Returns survey. Look for our full annual analysis in the Foundation Annual Investment Pool Returns report later this summer.