… [Read more...] about A Bigger Slice, Why Not a Bigger Pie?
Asset Growth Drives Giving Growth
As Go Assets, So Go Disbursements Intuitively, it makes perfect sense that foundations' disbursements are a function of their asset levels. After all, the the 5% mandated payout ratio ties disbursements to assets. Despite this fundamental relationship, we believe that attention to foundation's assets are too often overlooked, as new contributions and highly publicized … [Read more...] about Asset Growth Drives Giving Growth
Investment Performance, Asset Growth, and Grant Making
Four Numbers Big PictureInstinctively, we all know that there is an important long-term relationship between investment performance and grant making, but the interplay between donations, gains, losses, asset levels, and expenditures can appear complex and confusing, but at the very core, there are just four numbers to follow as seen in the accompanying box.Four Numbers to … [Read more...] about Investment Performance, Asset Growth, and Grant Making
The Most Important Number to Watch
Nonprofits want to know if they can count on continued financial support from foundations. While no one has a crystal ball to predict the future, we do have historical data that shows the high correlation over time between investment returns and giving. We also know that foundations' investment returns tend to track a portfolio blend of stocks and bonds which we can use as a … [Read more...] about The Most Important Number to Watch
One Small Assumption that Cost Institutions over $100 billion in the Past Decade
Benchmarks play an important role in investment management for many reasons including: 1) they serve as the default position for portfolio allocation, 2) they provide investment managers with a target to shoot for (and hopefully exceed), and 3) they provide the basis for comparison when evaluating performance as well as risk, which often overlooked but an important role in … [Read more...] about One Small Assumption that Cost Institutions over $100 billion in the Past Decade