“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
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
In today’s dynamic funding and operating environment, a lot is at stake for public colleges and universities and their endowments. The public university endowment is more than a static funding source; with strong stewardship, a growing endowment can transform a university’s financial equation. The most forward-thinking public universities use their endowments for far more than […]
January 2024
This paper discusses the qualified professional asset manager (QPAM) exemption, an established, ERISA-approved exemption related to private investing programs. The US Department of Labor (DOL) published its Final Amendment of the exemption on April 3, 2024 which will be effective as of June 17, 2024. Plans wishing to undertake a QPAM transaction should consult with […]
November 2023
Creating portfolios that are customized to a family’s unique investment goals and risk tolerance requires ingenuity and flexible thinking. However, the execution of risk management should be more systematic. It depends on setting clear frameworks to monitor risks, consistently implementing those frameworks to ensure one’s understanding of the portfolio remains current, and regularly communicating the […]
October 2023
On August 23, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted the most extensive reforms for the private investment industry since the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. The reforms include many noteworthy aspects that we, and the industry, are still reviewing closely. Below are a few key changes: Fee & Expense Transparency. The new rules require […]
August 2023
Private credit has become a popular asset class among pension plan sponsors seeking yield enhancement over their public fixed income allocations. The non-bank finance market has flourished since the Global Financial Crisis due to a more restrictive bank regulatory environment, resulting in reduced bank lending activity, and a wide range of private credit opportunities are […]
July 2023
Saving on Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) premiums has long been at the forefront of many pension risk management decisions. When interest rates were near historic lows during 2019 and 2020, many single-employer plan sponsors changed their methodology for calculating these premiums to reduce their tax obligation to the federal government. Although it appeared like […]
July 2023