Institutional investors

Endowments, foundations and the inflation challenge May 2010 Steve Murray Senior Research Analyst Leola Ross Senior Research Analyst The vast majority of endowments and foundations aim to serve their communities in perpetuity, but costs increase over time. As inflation eats away at portfolios, boards focus their investment policies on maximizing benefits to both current and future beneficiaries. This paper provides an evaluation of the effectiveness of various asset classes used to manage inflation exposure, including:   Commodities, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Infrastructure, Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), and Gold. In addition, authors Steve Murray and Leola Ross provide practical portfolio recommendations for endowments and foundations — recommendations that differ depending on the causes they support, such as:   Medical causes, Non-profits focused on consumer education, College and university endowments, and Investors exposed to broad U.S. or other developed markets inflation. Request this research A note about our research Our proprietary research is made available to our institutional clients, and many of these published papers are available to other institutional investors as well. If you are not a Russell client, but are an institutional investor, we welcome you to request this research piece. We only require your contact information on a short request form. For more information about our research, please contact David or Gerry:     West Coast David Rothenberg Managing Director 866-926-5934 East Coast Gerry Lillis Director 866-459-4128 Nothing contained in this material is intended to constitute legal, tax, securities, or investment advice, nor an opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment, nor a solicitation of any type. The general information contained in this publication should not be acted upon without obtaining specific legal, tax, and investment advice from a licensed professional. Please remember that all investments carry some level of risk, including the potential loss of principal invested. They do not typically grow at an even rate of return and may experience negative growth. As with any type of portfolio structuring, attempting to reduce risk and increase return could, at certain times, unintentionally reduce returns. Russell Investment Group is a Washington, USA corporation, which operates through subsidiaries worldwide, including Russell Investments, and is a subsidiary of The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. Date of first use: May 2010 USI-6923-05-12			Related information Request this research Printer friendly version of this page