Higher Endowment Spending Needed for Some in Challenging Environment

A recent Cambridge Associates survey of 104 endowments and foundations reveals that most institutions are adhering to their endowment spending policies, with 80% following policy in 2025 and 81% expected to do so in 2026. However, a notable minority—15% in 2025 and 14% anticipating in 2026—are spending beyond policy, primarily due to federal funding cuts […]

October 2025

Portfolio Construction: A Blueprint for Private Families

Private investors and wealthy families face distinct portfolio management complexities. Our latest paper details how we build and manage portfolios to meet each private client’s long-term goals.

June 2025

Endowment Radar Study 2024: Why Colleges and Universities Have Endowments

The initial months of 2025 have been extraordinary for higher education. Colleges and universities are facing questions about their missions, policies, curricula, and why they have endowments. While endowment wealth is in the headlines and crosshairs, the purpose of endowments can be lost, under the radar one might say. The 2024 Endowment Radar Study highlights […]

March 2025

Sustainable and Impact Investing 2024: Insights and Perspectives

Overview Of the 255 CA clients that responded to the 2024 survey, 157 reported engaging in Sustainable and Impact Investing (SII) (54%). A group of 49 institutions have consistently responded to three consecutive surveys in 2020, 2022, and 2024. From this group, we have seen a steady increase in SII integration from 45% in 2020 […]

February 2025

The Fed Cuts Aggressively, but Remains Cautious About Future Cuts

The Federal Reserve has reduced the target range for the federal funds rate by 50 basis points (bps) to 4.75%–5.00%, the first reduction in over four years. This decision, while anticipated, marks a pivotal shift in monetary policy. The Fed also released updated economic projections, which highlighted it expects to reduce interest rates by a […]

September 2024

Optimizing Wealth Infrastructure for Families

Many families who have succeeded in building wealth or experienced a major liquidity event find themselves in uncharted territory. This includes families who are thinking through how to separate the management of their finances and investments from those of their company, as well as those who have recently sold a business. In some cases, a […]

June 2024

The Divestment Question: Focus on Governance

“Divest now!” Passionate voices are demanding distance between the endowment and investments that can be connected to war and human suffering. Divestment campaigns may seek to influence change, take an ethical investing stance, and/or ensure that the capital of the institution they care about does not fund or profit from a cause or actions they […]

May 2024

Endowment Radar Study 2023: Endowment Dependence Grows with Higher Costs

Higher costs and higher rates of endowment spending are the major story lines of the 2023 Endowment Radar Study. In 2023, the endowment provided a stable source of funding for the growing costs of private college and university business model (Figure 1). The four components of Endowment Radar measure the endowment’s role in supporting the […]

March 2024