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.
A growing number of institutions and families are choosing to spend down assets over a limited time, rather than investing in perpetuity. There are valid arguments for—and against—using a spend-down approach to achieve philanthropic and investment goals. This paper provides historical context for spend-down funds, considers nuances for achieving good governance, and suggests an approach for dynamic asset allocation strategy, with case studies as illustrations.
In our 2022 Sustainable and Impact Investing Survey, we reached out to Cambridge Associates clients for insights into how investors are thinking about sustainable and impact investing, as well as to identify changes in the field over the past two years and to understand possible future trends. Of the 144 clients who responded, 93 reported engaging in sustainable and impact investing, and this chart book explores trends in the investment structure, implementation strategies, and governance and measurement of sustainable and impact investing.
Drawing on research that Cambridge Associates has conducted with major grant-making foundations, this paper discusses the shifting mission-aligned investment landscape and the importance of governance in developing and overseeing a mission-aligned investment program. We lay out important steps in the mission-alignment process to define the scope of the commitment, structure, key milestones, and measures of success.
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 included substantial relief funds for the most troubled US multiemployer pension plans through its Special Financial Assistance (SFA) program. This paper looks at how multiemployer plans have a unique opportunity to improve their solvency through 2051 and beyond by optimizing how they invest both SFA relief funds and their existing plan assets.
Most families of significant wealth inevitably grapple with intergenerational wealth transitions. While shifting the responsibility for a family’s long-term financial health can be a challenging endeavor, generational transfers are also an opportunity for families to take a fresh look at their financial goals. With this in mind, we advocate a three-part framework for families seeking to integrate members of the next generation into the wealth management process, which focuses on engagement, education, and empowerment.
Investment governance plays a critical role in the ability of families with substantial wealth to define their financial objectives and formulate a strategy for a diversified portfolio. This paper provides an overview of investment governance that families can use in the development of their own investment decision-making framework.
As next gen investors and principal wealth owners think about meeting both near- and long-term wealth management challenges, they should consider three core pillars of building a lasting family legacy: shared values, strong wealth governance, and a clear, long-term investment policy.
In the second piece of our two-part series on philanthropy and impact investing, we take a closer look at portfolio implementation best practices for families. In doing so, we outline how families may wish to identify opportunities within sustainable and impact investing (SII) themes. We discuss the broad opportunity set, how to construct and then actively manage an investment portfolio of these strategies, and why families are well-positioned to deploy capital in this space.
In engaging with our family clients around the world, we are often asked for views on how to think about philanthropy versus impact investing and how to best implement a socially and/or environmentally impactful investment strategy. Common themes transcend these topics, but each is distinct, and we will outline our perspective in a two-part series. In this first piece, we discuss some of the motivations behind philanthropy and we review how philanthropy relates to impact investing.