Category: Insights

Kane Brenan, CEO, and Anne Duggan, Managing Director, Client CIO Group, at TIFF Investment Management, join host Bill Kelly on the Educational Alpha podcast for a comprehensive conversation about TIFF’s mission, investment philosophy, and role in today’s evolving market landscape.

The conversation explores:
• TIFF’s origin story and 30+ year mission of delivering institutional-quality investment management to endowments and foundations.
• How TIFF continues to evolve—expanding from small institutions to larger, more complex organizations requiring customized portfolios.
• The firm’s access to what it believes to be top-tier private equity and hedge fund managers, driven by its longstanding industry relationships.
• TIFF’s investment philosophy and macro views, including strategic asset allocation, short-duration positioning, and perspectives on the U.S. dollar and long-term debt.
• The implications of the newly expanded endowment tax tiers, and how institutions may adapt portfolio strategies in response.
• Why liquidity is top of mind for nonprofit investors, and how private market exposure, secondary sales, and tax strategies are being re-evaluated.
• Why TIFF believes private equity remains compelling—even as many institutions pull back—and how current market sentiment may present attractive entry points.
• How TIFF approaches hedge funds as diversifying strategies requiring disciplined manager selection, risk management, and thoughtful portfolio construction.

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Disclaimer: Kane Brenan is the CEO, and Anne Duggan is the Managing Director, Client CIO Group at TIFF Investment Management. All views expressed by them on this podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of TIFF. You should not treat any opinions expressed by Kane or Anne as a specific endorsement to make a particular investment. References to any securities are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Any past performance discussed is not indicative of future results. Please keep in mind that investment in a fund entails a high degree of risk, including the risk of loss. Please note that the ads featured in this podcast are not endorsed by TIFF, and TIFF is not a sponsor of these ads.

Educational Alpha is a podcast hosted by Bill Kelly, Founder and Managing Member of Educational Alpha, LLC. The show features candid conversations with senior leaders on capital allocation, investment innovation, and long-term thinking in finance.

The materials are being provided for informational purposes only and constitute neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy securities. These materials also do not constitute an offer or advertisement of TIFF’s investment advisory services or investment, legal or tax advice. Opinions expressed herein are those of TIFF and are not a recommendation to buy or sell any securities.

These materials may contain forward-looking statements relating to future events. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” or “continue,” the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. Although TIFF believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, future results cannot be guaranteed.

Jay Willoughby, CFA, CIO of TIFF Investment Management, was featured in FIN News sharing how private equity and hedge funds may help endowment portfolios under fiscal pressure, including tax burdens and federal funding cuts.

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Disclaimer: To access this article, a subscription is necessary. Please note that TIFF does not possess the rights to distribute this content.

The materials are being provided for informational purposes only and constitute neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy securities. These materials also do not constitute an offer or advertisement of TIFF’s investment advisory services or investment, legal or tax advice. Opinions expressed herein are those of TIFF and are not a recommendation to buy or sell any securities.

These materials may contain forward-looking statements relating to future events. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” or “continue,” the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. Although TIFF believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, future results cannot be guaranteed.

Anne Duggan, CAIA, Managing Director, Client CIO Group at TIFF Investment Management, spoke with reporter Sabiq Shahidullah from FundFire on how large private university endowments are rethinking their investment strategies in response to recent changes to the federal excise tax on endowments. From tax-loss harvesting to rebalancing away from high-turnover strategies, Duggan outlines how even modest tax changes could prompt meaningful portfolio adjustments.

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The materials are being provided for informational purposes only and constitute neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy securities. These materials also do not constitute an offer or advertisement of TIFF’s investment advisory services or investment, legal or tax advice. Opinions expressed herein are those of TIFF and are not a recommendation to buy or sell any securities.

These materials may contain forward-looking statements relating to future events. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” or “continue,” the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. Although TIFF believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, future results cannot be guaranteed.

David Brenner, COO at TIFF Investment Management, is featured on Capital Allocators’ Investment Management Operations podcast with host, Scott MacDonald.

The conversation explores:

• David’s career journey from consulting to asset management to ultimately becoming COO at TIFF.
• The transformation of TIFF from a product-centric to a solution-oriented investment firm (TIFF 1.0 to 2.0), while staying true to its mission-driven identity.
• TIFF’s evolving board governance model, with the board serving as an active strategic partner in the firm’s transformation.
• The importance of building strong, and scalable, operational foundations, especially in smaller organizations.
• How data is elevated as a strategic pillar alongside people, process, and technology.
• The role and integration of AI and automation in improving efficiency and decision-making.
• How technology is reshaping how TIFF processes, accesses, and interacts with investment manager information.
• How TIFF is responding to industry trends and client expectations.

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Investment Management Operations of Capital Allocators is a podcast hosted by Scott MacDonald that dives into the operational side of the investment industry. Each episode features conversations with senior professionals across operations, compliance, legal, finance, and other non-investment roles—offering insight into how leading investment institutions are run behind the scenes. Website →

Past performance is no guarantee of future results and the opinions presented cannot be viewed as an indicator of future performance. There is no guarantee that any particular asset allocation or mix of strategies will meet your investment objectives.

The materials are being provided for informational purposes only and constitute neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy securities. These materials also do not constitute investment, legal or tax advice. Opinions expressed herein are those of TIFF and are not a recommendation to buy or sell any securities.

These materials may contain forward-looking statements relating to future events. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” or “continue,” the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. Although TIFF believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, future results cannot be guaranteed.

Executive Summary

• An institution may consider changing its spend rate for various reasons, such as facing financial challenges and wanting to increase budgetary support or experiencing financial success and aiming to grow the endowment more quickly.
• When considering a change in spend rate, it is important to understand how it affects the endowment’s future purchasing power and budgetary support.
• Spend rates require careful balance: they cannot be so low that the institution lacks support, nor so high that maintaining inflation-adjusted principal becomes challenging, as the endowment must earn a return to offset spending plus inflation.
• Two main trade-offs to consider when changing spend rates:
  • Timing of value: Higher spending today versus more spending dollars in the future due to asset compounding over time
  • Impact to endowment strategy: Rate changes may require adjustments to target return requirements, risk level, and asset allocation

The Decision Framework

Whether driven by financial pressures or strategic opportunity, spend rate adjustments represent one of the most significant decisions an endowment can make. The process requires careful analysis of both quantitative impacts and qualitative institutional factors. As a reminder, spend rate is the percent an institution withdraws from its endowment on an annual basis. Please refer to our Spend Policy 101 for a foundational overview.

Balancing Mission Support and Purchasing Power

At its core, spend rate decisions involve balancing competing institutional priorities. These dual endowment goals—supporting today’s mission while preserving tomorrow’s purchasing power—create a natural tension that requires careful balance. Rates too low fail to adequately support institutional needs, while rates too high make it challenging to maintain real value over time.

Key Trade-offs in Changing the Rate

Timing of the Value

A key consideration in determining if a rate change is appropriate is identifying when the institution would benefit most from its endowment funds.

For example, funds left in the endowment will grow and compound creating a larger spend in the future, while funds taken from the endowment will provide an immediate budget impact today.

Case Study

The example below highlights the trade-off in a $100M endowment of raising a 3-year trailing average spend of 4% to 4.5%. The numbered commentary corresponds to the charts that follow.

1. There is an immediate impact on spend to support the budget, which continues for several years.
2. However, all else being equal, this larger spend reduces the size of the endowment.
3. At a certain point, the spend to the institution is now less at 4.5% than 4%, because the endowment size has been reduced over time.

Factors to Consider

When having these discussions, pairing quantitative analysis with collaborative discussion is important. Here are some key factors worth considering:

• Value of the change: Consider the net present value of the marginal budget support
  • For rate increases, determine whether they support long-term value or address one-time, short-term uses
• Duration of spend rate change: Spend rate changes are not permanent and can be changed again in the future
• Spend methodology: How the institution calculates the spend will impact the trade-offs
• Endowment portfolio construction: Consider target returns, long-term expected real returns excluding spend, and risk level
• Inflation expectations: These impact target returns as well as budget and potentially spend methodology
• Institutional factors: Evaluate current and future funding requirements, and the organization’s broader financial situation (revenue sources and stability, debt, etc.)
• Industry trends/perspective: Peer comparisons on both endowment and institutional factors exist to help contextualize each institution’s circumstances

Potential Impacts to the Endowment from Changing the Rate

Changing the rate can also have implications for the endowment, either providing more flexibility to grow or creating challenges to maintain principal. Most institutions maintain their investment strategy when lowering the rate, hoping to compound assets faster and build the endowment’s asset base for the future. The challenge arises when an institution increases its spend rate: can it adjust its risk or asset allocation enough to maintain the inflation-adjusted corpus?

Conclusion

Changing an institution’s spend rate requires careful consideration, input from a multitude of stakeholders, and thorough analysis of both qualitative and quantitative trade-offs. It is not a decision to be made without robust dialogue with key constituents. If your institution is considering a change to your spend rate, TIFF is ready to help navigate the various considerations and determine the right path for your institution.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results and the opinions presented cannot be viewed as an indicator of future performance. There is no guarantee that any particular asset allocation or mix of strategies will meet your investment objectives.

The materials are being provided for informational purposes only and constitute neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy securities. These materials also do not constitute investment, legal or tax advice. Opinions expressed herein are those of TIFF and are not a recommendation to buy or sell any securities.

These materials may contain forward-looking statements relating to future events. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” or “continue,” the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. Although TIFF believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, future results cannot be guaranteed.