Peer Data

Annual Review of Endowments: Fiscal Year 2017

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

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

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

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.