E & F Insight
The E&F Advocate: Endowment Turbulence – A Crisis at the Crosswinds of Politics, Policy, and Portfolio Strategy
photo credit: ideogram.ai Back in calmer times, larger endowments operated with seeming invisibility—quietly compounding capital over decades, shielded from public glare. Fast forward to today, these capital pools sit squarely in the eye of a brewing political and financial storm. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Columbia—once synonymous with strategic patience and long-termism—are now recalibrating rapidly. The…
Read MoreThe E&F Advocate: Key Takeaways on Proposed Endowment Tax Changes
photo credit: ideogram.ai The proposed endowment tax changes aim to increase the current 1.4% excise tax on net investment income of certain private colleges and universities to rates as high as 21% or more. Additionally, there are proposals to broaden the tax’s applicability by lowering the endowment assets per student threshold from $500,000 to…
Read MoreThe E&F Advocate: A New Series from Highland Consulting Associates
In an ever-changing financial landscape, endowments and foundations (E&F) face numerous challenges and opportunities that require informed decision-making and strategic planning. As these organizations navigate complex issues surrounding governance, investment strategies, policy shifts, and tax implications, it’s crucial to stay ahead of emerging trends and evolving best practices. For this reason, we’re excited to launch…
Read MoreThe E&F Advocate: Five Pillars of Endowment Governance to Support Greater Liquidity, Transparency and Returns
Photo credit: Dreamstime The “Yale Model” of endowment investment strategy created by David Swenson, successful for decades, may be nearing retirement. What was developed during a time of falling interest rates, less asset class ubiquity, and diminished premiums for exotics, may be a far less tenable model in 2025. Models like Yale’s with their reliance…
Read MoreForecasting Equity Returns – What Can I Count On in 2024? Part Three: Smoke and Mirrors Day – A Celebration of Small Caps, Global Funds and Emerging Markets
Photo credit: Pixabay A three-part conversation with Highland Consulting Associates. Over the past several weeks we have been considering what you can expect from investment returns in 2024—or, rather, whether you can count on 2024 predictions at all. We’ve organized this series into three parts (see Part One and Part Two) to cover the major…
Read MoreForecasting Equity Returns – What Can I Count On in 2024? Part Two: What are the Pieces of the Pie? (And Is Your Pie Getting Smaller?)
Photo credit: Pixabay A three-part conversation with Highland Consulting Associates. In the next several weeks we’ll consider what you can expect from investment returns in 2024—or, rather, whether you can count on 2024 predictions at all. We’ll break this series into three parts to cover the major areas of investment opportunities beginning with historical returns,…
Read MoreForecasting Equity Returns – What Can I Count On in 2024? Part One: Normalized Distribution – Ring a Bell (Curve)?
Photo credit: Pixabay A three-part conversation with Highland Consulting Associates. In the next several weeks we’ll consider what you can expect from investment returns in 2024—or, rather, whether you can count on 2024 predictions at all. We’ll break this series into three parts to cover the major areas of investment opportunities beginning with historical returns,…
Read MoreCome Together: Nonprofits Pool Plans
Pooled plans are now for nonprofit organizations. U.S. nonprofits account for 10% of the U.S. workforce, trailing only retail and manufacturing[i]. Not only that, but the sector has grown dramatically over the last 15 years[ii]. For nonprofits wanting to attract and retain employees (most often, employees who share a commitment to the nonprofit’s mission), offering…
Read MoreMillennials Investing in a New(er) Millennia
Gone are the days of calling a stockbroker to hear the latest picks to then place a trade with a $50 commission for a mutual fund with a 2% expense ratio. Today, the average American 20-something with a phone and a brokerage account can place a zero-commission trade for any security on an exchange in…
Read MoreReframing Our Perspective
“What I am looking for is a blessing not in disguise.” Jerome K. Jerome In response to aphorisms like “adversity builds character,” and “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” is the honest plea from 19th century humorist Jerome K. Jerome, “What I am looking for is a blessing not in disguise.” While hard to…
Read More
