The chart above shows that foundation asset allocation hasn't varied much year to year. Two long term trends have been a reduction in cash and fixed income holdings and an increase in "Investments - Other". The category "Investments - Other" is a specific line on the foundation's annual filing. The underlying assets may include alternative assets such as private equity and … [Read more...] about Asset Allocation Doesn’t Change Much Even in Crises
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Everything was Great, Until it Wasn’t
The FoundationMark GIV Index estimates that foundations clocked average performance of 18.8% in 2019, the highest in the past 10 years. Foundation assets topped $1.1 trillion according to our estimates and giving grew over 6%, marking a decade long boom in charitable support. The coronavirus outbreak changed everything. As market turmoil continues, commentary is outdated as … [Read more...] about Everything was Great, Until it Wasn’t
College Endowments Report Fiscal 2019 Returns, and the News Isn’t Good
Autumn is back to school season, and while some people might think about tailgating at football games, there is another competition that takes place on campuses every fall, colleges report their investment returns. While FoundationAdvocate's ("FA") focus is the private foundation universe, we are keenly interested in their nonprofit cousins, college endowments. Unlike most … [Read more...] about College Endowments Report Fiscal 2019 Returns, and the News Isn’t Good
How Are Foundations Doing? July 2019 Topic: Is Bigger Really Better?
Once a month, FoundationAdvocate selects one topic in foundation-investment performance to highlight. This month’s topic is the relationship between a foundation’s total assets and its performance. The chart below shows the performance of two subsets of foundations, those with assets between $1-$2 million and those with over $500 million. As you can see from the … [Read more...] about How Are Foundations Doing? July 2019 Topic: Is Bigger Really Better?
FoundationMark 15 Asset Allocation
The FoundationMark 15 The FoundationMark 15 (“FM 15”) is a selection of 15 of the largest and best-known private foundations in the United States. Most private foundations, like those comprising the FM 15, rely on their investment returns as an important, and, often, their only, source of income to support their philanthropic goals. To view the performances and full … [Read more...] about FoundationMark 15 Asset Allocation