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Insights

Don’t Forget the Credit Spread!

While corporate plan sponsors are keenly aware of interest rate risk within their defined benefit plans, few fully appreciate the complex and significant risk posed by credit spreads.

October 2016

The Foundation of Good Governance for Family Impact Investors: Removing Obstacles and Charting a Path to Action

Before incorporating impact investments into their portfolios, we encourage families to define the overall context for their impact investments. Our contextual framework—focused on purpose, priorities, and principles—establishes the base of impact strategy and guides the development of governance structures. These elements will help ensure that family values and decision-making processes are advantages rather than obstacles in pursuing impact investing goals and objectives

September 2016

Keeping Underwater Endowments Afloat (and the Programs They Support)

When endowment funds slip “underwater” (below the historic dollar value of the original gift), institutions face a tradeoff between distributing anticipated budget support and restoring the endowment to its original value. Ultimately, the choice of underwater policy depends on the situation and needs of each institution in balancing endowment preservation with program support.

August 2016

The 15 Percent Frontier

With virtually limitless choices along the asset allocation spectrum, an allocation to private investments greater than 15% has served many investors well. Are you on the right track?

July 2016

Hedge Fund-ing the Pension Deficit

Select hedge funds have provided attractive long-term returns with reduced equity beta and can be integral to pension investment strategies.

June 2016

The Foundation of Good Governance for Endowments and Investment Committees

To create the conditions for good governance, endowments should assess whether they have in place the appropriate model for portfolio oversight and management, are upholding their fiduciary responsibilities, and are learning about peer best practices in structure, process, policies, and role of the portfolio.

May 2016

Risks and Opportunities From the Changing Climate: Playbook for the Truly Long-Term Investor

Considering climate factors is an economic risk management and opportunity capitalization issue core to prudent investing for the long term. In this paper, we discuss the potential risks that climate change can inflict upon certain sectors and asset classes, outline corresponding strategies to defend against those risks, and review the thematic areas across public and private asset classes to proactively capitalize on the evolving opportunity set within the "resource efficiency" sector.

December 2015