Initial 990-PF filings for foundations show significant drop in fixed-income investments

15 of the nation's largest foundations have filed their 2011 990-PFs. Total investment assets fell 2.9% year over year to $72 billion. Significant decreases were seen in both U.S. and state government obligations and corporate bonds. Corporate bond investments decreased 20.1% to $3.1 billion. The “other” investments category, which usually contains alternative investments, was the only category that had an increase year over year. Total assets in “other” rose 4.7% to $28.8.

The Pensions & Investments team will continue to update the information as it becomes available.