In 2021, the US private equity and venture capital indexes posted their highest calendar year returns since 1999, potentially signaling a market peak and the end of over a decade of steady growth. For the year, the Cambridge Associates LLC US Private Equity Index® returned 41.3% and the Cambridge Associates LLC US Venture Capital Index® gained 54.6%.
Given the uncertain economic and profit environment, have markets bottomed yet? In this edition of VantagePoint, we address this question by comparing current market conditions to those of historical bear markets, evaluating economic conditions to better understand near-term recession prospects, and considering how much further the market may have to go based on historical precedents.
Annual distributions from the endowment are a source of supplemental operating revenue for most endowed institutions. An institution’s endowment spending policy provides a basis for the calculation of the annual distribution, serving as a bridge that links the long-term investment portfolio and the enterprise. The data and analysis in this report review the various spending rule types used among our endowed clients. Also included are analyses on the endowment’s support of operations and effective spending rate.
The Foundation Annual Flash Statistics Report provides a first look at the results of our 2021 Foundation Annual Investment Pool Returns survey. Included in the analysis are a summary of investment pool returns, asset allocation, and returns after spending for 111 foundations. Additionally, the report provides detailed data by institution on asset allocation. Look for our full annual analysis in the upcoming Foundation Annual Investment Pool Returns report.
Our quarterly report summarizes asset allocation and total investment performance for 371 of Cambridge Associates’ US endowment and foundation clients.
The Federal Reserve announced that it was raising the target range for the Fed funds rate by 75 basis points to 1.50%–1.75% and made wholesale changes to its summary of economic projections.
US small-cap stocks have underperformed large-cap peers in recent years, opening a significant valuation discount that seems hard to justify based on relative earnings strength or balance sheet health. The sector exposure of small-cap stocks may make them better positioned for the current environment of rising interest rates and high commodity prices. While small caps should always be a part of investors’ tool kits, now is an especially opportune time to add exposure, given historically low valuations.
Yes. We do expect venture capital (VC) returns to be negatively impacted in the coming quarters but doubt that impact will be as pronounced and wholesale as it was during the dot-com era.
This publication presents manager performance for 37 asset classes and substrategies, showing the median, mean, and key percentiles of return. Relevant indexes for each asset class are also included to provide market context.
Global inflation has been higher and more persistent than most economists anticipated. In this edition of VantagePoint, we evaluate current inflationary and deflationary crosscurrents and the implications for investors. We continue to believe that predicting the future path of inflation is difficult to do well and that the best protection is a well-constructed diversified portfolio designed to meet the asset owner’s risk tolerance, portfolio objectives, and spending needs.