Authored by: William Prout

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.

Annual Analysis of Independent School Investment Pool Returns: Fiscal Year 2016

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This report reviews portfolio returns, asset allocation, investment manager structures, and net flow data for 26 independent schools. 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, and net flow rates.

Annual Analysis of College and University Investment Pool Returns: Fiscal Year 2016

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This report reviews portfolio returns, asset allocation, investment manager structures, and net flow data for 161 colleges and universities. Analysis and exhibits include asset class returns, performance attribution, risk analytics, policy portfolio benchmarking, the impact of private investment programs on portfolio liquidity, the use of external managers by asset class, and net flow rates.

Finding the Proper Perspective for Peer Comparisons

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Institutions understandably have an interest in the investment results of peers, but a hyper-focus on peer comparisons can be distracting, if not destructive, to effective governance. In this report, we review what can be learned from peer data, where the pitfalls lie, and some examples of how to approach analyzing peer data.

Endowments Quarterly: Second Quarter 2016

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Our quarterly report summarizes asset allocation and total investment performance for over 400 of Cambridge Associates’ US endowment and foundation clients. This quarter we used attribution analysis to examine the contribution of asset allocation and implementation decisions to total returns for the trailing one- and ten-year periods. Tables and charts in the report show returns…

Annual Analysis of Foundation Investment Pool Returns: Calendar Year 2015

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This report reviews portfolio returns, asset allocation, investment management structures, and payout characteristics for 113 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.