More than half of U.S. endowments and foundations moved their investments to alternatives at the expense of equities and other investments during the year ended June 30, according to preliminary findings of the 2002 Commonfund Benchmarks Study.
The study showed that more than half of the participants changed asset allocations during the year, boosting investments an average of 9% in instruments such as hedge funds, private equity and venture capital. They also increased cash an average of 3%. But domestic equities declined an average of 9%; fixed income, 1%; and international equities, 2%.
The survey also found that annual total returns for endowments and foundations dropped to -2.8% in 2001 from 12.3% in 2000. The final report is due out in mid-January.
