Higher costs and higher rates of endowment spending are the major story lines of the 2023 Endowment Radar Study. Over the past year, the endowment provided a stable source of funding to for the growing costs of private college and university business model.
In today’s dynamic funding and operating environment, a lot is at stake for public colleges and universities and their endowments. The endowment is more than a static funding source; it plays a strategic and expanding role in the public university business model, and with strong stewardship, a growing endowment can transform a university’s financial equation.
Many defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors have concerns that the longer-term lockups required for private investments (PI) preclude them from taking advantage of this asset class. However, an exemption exists that allows ERISA-governed DB plans to transfer their PI programs to a separate investment pool if they need to—without liquidating them or sacrificing returns.
We believe insurance-linked securities can be a good fit for many pension funds looking to diversify their portfolios. This paper shares insights on how pensions can confidently underwrite and implement this asset class.
Creating portfolios customized to a family’s unique investment goals and risk tolerance requires ingenuity and flexible thinking. However, the execution of risk management should be more systematic, and families and their advisors should consider four components: strategic risk, implementation risk, portfolio monitoring, and communication.
By changing the PPA discount rate methodology to the Full Yield Curve approach, ERISA-covered US single-employer pension plans can significantly decrease or eliminate their variable rate premiums, reduce complexity, and simplify the risk management process.
For families of significant wealth, complexity is a natural byproduct of a well-managed portfolio, but there is such a thing as overcomplexity. This paper discusses a range of best practices to consider if and when a portfolio is encountering sluggishness, inefficiency, or ambiguity.
Yes. A rigorous operational due diligence (ODD) review is a core piece of the investment manager underwriting process that allows limited partners to make informed investment decisions. Recent banking sector events, including yesterday’s collapse of First Republic Bank, highlight the need for a constantly evolving ODD framework capable of identifying and addressing both ongoing and new risks that managers may encounter.
Costs are an important consideration when devising an overall wealth management strategy. Each family’s wealth management cost formula is different. Various tools and insights are available to help them make informed decisions about how to meet their unique service requirements and investment goals at a reasonable cost.
Our 2022 Endowment Radar Study reflects the important role of the endowment in the dynamic private college and university business model. The endowment played a relatively smaller role in supporting growing operating budgets and financial aid commitments compared to 2021.