Private and Community Foundations Report Lower Returns for 2014
The 2014 Council on Foundations-Commonfund Study of Investment of Endowments for Private and Community Foundations Study™ released recently shows that private foundations reported a 6.1% return for fiscal year 2014 while community foundation portfolios returned 4.8%. These returns declined from 15.6%, and 15.2%, respectively from 2013.
Lower returns for domestic and international equities were the primary driver of the reduced results. Of the alternative strategies in the private foundation portfolios, venture capital generated a 22% return, distressed debt (19.3%), private equity (13.8%)private equity real estate (11.7%),, Marketable alts (4.0%), Energy and Natural Resources (7.0%), and commodities and managed futures produced a negative return (-12.1%). Generally, community foundation alternatives did not perform as well as private foundation portfolios in each respective category, with the exception of private equity real estate. To view the complete report, visit the Counsel of Foundations website.
