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NACUBO and Commonfund Institute Launch Study of Endowments

August 24, 2009

NACUBO and Commonfund Institute have launched the inaugural NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. This partnership, first announced in November 2008, combines the traditional NACUBO Endowment Study with the Commonfund Benchmarks Study of Educational Endowments. Survey data collection will be conducted from August 24 through October 16, 2009, and will examine endowment performance and other issues during fiscal year 2009.

The new endowment study will combine both quantitative and qualitative data to provide a more complete picture of endowment performance and other important issues. Harris Interactive, a leading online survey provider, will host the Web-based survey this year; roughly 1,000 institutions will be asked to participate in the online study. Riverside Associates will conduct telephone interviews at approximately 250 institutions, selected based on endowment size and other characteristics to accurately represent the survey of all college and university endowments and affiliated higher education foundations.

In addition to endowment investment performance, asset allocation, and market values, the NCSE will include new sections on endowment and institutional finance data-such as portfolio rebalancing, debt load, policies and response to current economic and investing environment, and responses to new AICPA Guidelines. Data from the new study will be released at the NACUBO Endowment Forum in January 2010. As in past years, all institutions and foundations that participate in the study will receive complimentary access to the final report.

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