Thoughtful investment professionals continue to debate whether a portfolio's long-term performance can be enhanced by including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in the security selection process, but responsible investing is more than a passing trend. The terms socially-responsible investing, mission-related investing,…

In the wake of the financial crisis, trustees of many endowed nonprofit institutions realized that their portfolio was riskier than they thought and their own ability to tolerate loss wasn't as strong as they imagined. What can board and investment committee members do to improve their ability to assess their--and their institution's--capacity for…

Outsourcing of investment management is a growing trend among institutional investors. With a broad range of institutions using or exploring the outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) model, portfolio size is no longer the determining factor driving the outsourcing decision. For all but the largest institutional investors--those with deep…

This overview of the state of endowment giving comes at a time of urgent need in the nonprofit sector. With market returns uncertain, and spending restraint difficult, the moderate but measurable increase in donations in the previous year invites institutions to consider elevating fund-raising to a more strategic position within the organization.…

Successful investing for long-term funds requires a strategic plan. This is true despite--indeed, because of--the fact that the future is unknowable. The plan must be specific, embodying in concrete terms the best thinking of the board of trustees about the investment pool, its goals and purposes; but it also needs to be sufficiently flexible to…

"Spectacular error" sounds euphemistic compared to "devastating," "catastrophic," or "meltdown"--terms more commonly summoned to describe the credit crisis and ensuing global economic carnage. Whatever they are labeled, gross miscalculations on Wall Street are having a deleterious effect on college campuses across the country, with many…