FoundationAdvocate does not offer investment advice or recommend service providers, but we do occasionally comment on general investing concepts and provide some background information on investment concepts and theory as well as provide links to external articles that we believe are insightful.
Articles
Payout Ratios – Why is it so Complicated to Get a Simple Answer?
One would think that calculating a payout ratio is a very straightforward task. You just need a numerator and a denominator, therefor simple division leaves
First Quarter 2021 Performance Round-Up
Each quarter we pull together the published results of three leading measures of foundation performance, the FoundationMark GIV Index, the Northern Trust Foundation and Endowment
Universe Comparison
In our efforts to track and report on the investment performance of foundations, we have found five organizations that publicly report their results Each organization
Fourth Quarter 2020 Performance Round-Up
Each quarter we pull together the published results of the leading measures of foundation performance, the FoundationMark GIV Index, the Northern Trust Foundation and Endowment
FoundationMark Adds Peer Group Analysis
FoundationMark, has recently rolled out a new feature – peer group analysis. Foundations have been badly underserved in terms of available financial benchmarking resources. The
Third Quarter 2020 Performance Round-Up
Each quarter we pull together the published results of three leading measures of foundation performance, the FoundationMark GIV Index, the Northern Trust Foundation and Endowment
Second Quarter 2020 Performance Round-Up
Each quarter we pull together the published results of three leading measures of foundation performance, the FoundationMark GIV Index, the Northern Trust Foundation and Endowment
How Much do Foundations Give Per Year?
Measuring Giving in Dollars and as a Percent of Assets Examining foundation giving is best approached from two perspectives, first, in terms of actual dollars
Measuring Foundation Asset Levels
Last summer our research indicated that foundation assets crossed the $1 trillion threshold for the first time at some point in 2017, about 18 months
Foundations Disburse 8% of Average Assets in Grants and Expenses per Year
Mandated Five Percent is a Floor Not a Ceiling Most people in the philanthropic world are familiar with the 5% payout requirement that nonprofits must
Asset Allocation Different Perspectives
One of the most basic concepts in portfolio management is that asset allocation typically determines the lion’s share of investment returns. If your portfolio is
First Quarter Update: How the Stock Market Decline is Likely to Affect Foundation Assets and Giving
How Much are Foundation Assets Down? Preliminary March estimates from our affiliate, FoundationMark, indicate that foundation assets are down about 12.7% since the beginning of
Asset Allocation Doesn’t Change Much Even in Crises
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
Expect a Slowdown in Giving
Market Effects on Foundation Giving Giving USA provides the results of annual surveys (below) which show the historical perspective on foundation giving. One can see
Fourth Quarter 2019 Performance Round-Up
Each quarter we pull together the published results of three leading measures of foundation performance, the FoundationMark GIV Index, the Northern Trust Foundation and Endowment
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
Giving Has Been Growing
Charitable Disbursements up 40% in the Past Five Years As the chart below shows, private foundations have increased their annual philanthropic support (green line) by
The Institutional Approach
Setting A Course In a related article, Who Controls The Money?, we discussed different approaches to managing foundation assets. In this article we discuss the
Who Controls The Money
Setting A Course The title of this article, Who Controls The Money?, is intentionally provocative. In the foundation world it is an easy answer, the
Risk & Return = Volatility and Performance
Risk & Return: Yale’s Long Term Expectations By Asset Class Yale’s endowment report is an incredible resource for investors. One reason it should be required
1% Better Investment Performance – Implication for Charitable Giving
The Math is Simple Private foundations have $1 trillion in assets. An incremental 1% return on investment would yield an additional $10 billion….per year…every year.
Links
Nonprofit Performance Links FoundationAdvocate is owned and operated by the same parent company as FoundationMark, publisher of the “Better Benchmarks for Private Foundations” indices, and
Incoming Contributions
Five Years of Substantial Growth from Incoming Contributions Foundations have two primary sources of asset growth, 1) investment returns, and 2) new contributions. At FoundationAdvocate,
FoundationMark Portfolio Strategies Classification
FoundationMark Portfolio Strategies Investments – Others*: There is a distinct line on the IRS form requiring the fair market value of a foundation’s holdings in
Disclosed Investment Expenses
Why “Disclosed” Qualifier Foundation Advocate and our related company, FoundationMark, very consciously uses the qualifying term “disclosed” whenever referring to investment expenses for a very
The Endowment Model: A Brief Overview
The “endowment” model of investing, often simply referred to as the “Yale” model, after Yale’s legendary Chief Investment Officer, David Swenson, who literally wrote the
Is Our Foundation Getting the Most Bang for Our Buck?
There is a core question in managing money that is very difficult to answer, which is How hard is our money working? One hears about
Accuracy Explainer
How Accurate are the FoundationMark Estimates? After learning that our affiliate, FoundationMark, estimates the investment performance of foundations, the first questions one might ask is