Authored by: William Prout

Spending Policy Practices: 2018

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Annual distributions from the endowment are a source of supplemental operating revenue for most endowed institutions, as an institution’s spending policy serves as a bridge that links the long-term investment portfolio and the enterprise. The data and analysis in this report cover a variety of spending topics including spending rule types, the endowment’s support of operations, and effective spending rates. This year’s report draws on a supplemental study Cambridge Associates conducted in April 2018 to dive deeper into some technical factors of spending policy, specifically focusing on spending from new endowment gifts.

Foundation Annual Investment Pool Returns: Calendar Year 2017

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This report, based on a survey that Cambridge Associates administers annually to our foundation clients, summarizes returns, asset allocation, and other investment-related data for 111 foundations for the year ended December 31, 2017. Included in this year’s report are commentary and exhibits across five sections: Investment Portfolio Returns, Asset Allocation, Investment Manager Structures, Payout from the Long-Term Investment Portfolio, and Investment Office Staffing and Governance.

Annual Review of Endowments: Fiscal Year 2017

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This new report summarizes portfolio returns, asset allocation, and related trends for 289 endowed institutions. Included are exhibits on asset class returns, performance attribution, risk analytics, policy portfolio benchmarking, and uncalled capital commitments to private investments. The analysis is broken down by size of assets under management and by institution type. The report also contains…

College and University Investment Pool Returns: Fiscal Year 2017

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This report summarizes portfolio returns, asset allocation, and related trends for 164 colleges and universities. Included are exhibits on asset class returns, performance attribution, risk analytics, policy portfolio benchmarking, and uncalled capital commitments to private investments. The report also contains sections on investment management structures and flows to and from the long-term investment portfolio. Finally, this year’s report includes a new section that looks at topics pertaining to governance and investment office staffing.

Annual Analysis of Foundation Investment Pool Returns: Calendar Year 2016

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This report reviews portfolio returns, asset allocation, investment management structures, and payout characteristics for 112 foundations. Analysis and exhibits include performance attribution, risk analytics, policy portfolio benchmarking, the impact of private investment programs on portfolio liquidity, the use of external managers by asset class, payout rates, payout distribution components, and payout objectives.

Spending Policy Practices: 2017

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Setting an appropriate spending policy is an important part of effective endowment management, as an institution’s spending policy serves as a bridge that links the long-term investment portfolio and the enterprise. The data and analysis in this report cover a variety of spending topics including spending rule types, the endowment’s support of operations, and effective spending rates. This year’s report draws on a supplemental study Cambridge Associates conducted in March 2017 to dive deeper into the topics of spending policy implementation and factors that may lead to policy changes.