Conservation Trust Investment Survey
While Conservation Trust Funds (CTFs) expand and diversify their funding mechanisms, endowments and sinking funds continue to be a vital source of sustainable funding for many. As such, effective asset management is critical to the CTFs' financial health. This page is designed as a consolidated source for information on asset management for CTFs. It includes the Conservation Trust Investment Survey (CTIS) reports, current articles, and resources on sustainable investing, including networks focused on this topic.
In 2006, the CFA, Wildlife Conservation Society, and RedLAC released the first CTIS, an annual study of the investment management policies, practices and results of the Conservation Trust Funds. Since that first report, the CTIS project has produced twelve annual reports, developed an investment management workshop for CTF leaders, investigated pooling models for CTFs, and participated in the development of the original Practice Standards for CTFs as well as the 2020 update to the Standards.
This resource page will continuously evolve - please share additional materials with us!
The CFA and WCS are proud to present the Conservation Trust Investment Survey (CTIS) 2018 report.
This CTIS study is designed to provide information that can assist established Conservation Trust Funds (CTFs) in analyzing their investment strategies, and to create a foundation upon which new or nascent CTFs can learn from the experience of others.
The main objective of this study is to report on the performance and present the investment strategies and approaches implemented by participating CTFs. A secondary objective is to serve as an educational vehicle to promote discussion about investment management approaches and concepts.
Authors: Katy Mathias and Ray Victurine
Click on the image to download.
A webinar recorded in December of 2019 discussing the report can be viewed here.
Resources
What We’re Reading
Net Zero Endowments Briefing Paper
International Endowments Network
This briefing paper aims to provide endowment decision makers and their service providers with an introductory, high-level overview of net zero portfolio commitments
The Pillars of Stronger Foundation Practice
Associations of Charitable Foundations
There is a wide range of resources available to foundations to support them in achieving financial returns from their investments. This report has a different focus, looking at how investments can be more closely integrated with a foundation’s grant-making and other activities.
The COVID-19 Downturn and ESG Investing, International Endowments Network
“While the COVID-19 Pandemic caused severe equity market drawdowns in March and April 2020, this blog by Jack Farrell of the Intentional Endowment Network explores the performance of ESG equity investments during this pandemic and the reasons for their relative outperformance. “
Crashes and COVID-19 in Historical Context
“The stock markets are reeling as fear and uncertainty about the global pandemic grow. We asked Yale SOM’s William Goetzmann, whose research includes financial history, to put the volatility into historical perspective.”
“The financial performance of ESG strategies remains a central concern for the fiduciaries stewarding these institutions’ capital. This report provides an update on the state of the research, highlighting studies that have explored the financial performance of a variety of sustainable investing strategies. The bottom line? A growing body of evidence from academics and practitioners shows that sustainable investing strategies, in general, perform as well or better than traditional approaches.
For the first time, this report provides a collection of real-world cases of college and university endowments implementing sustainable investment strategies and meeting their financial performance targets.”
Why Did the Stock Market Bounce Back While COVID-19 Cases Kept Rising?
“In the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, stock prices plunged, but they have since regained much of their value. Why would stocks rise while the country is paralyzed by a pandemic? According to preliminary research by Yale SOM’s Peter Schott and his co-authors, investors may be adjusting prices based on whether previous predictions of total infections seemed overly optimistic or pessimistic.”
Studies
Previous CTIS reports as well as other related studies.
Conservation Trust Fund Investment Survey (CTIS) 2018
This CTIS study is designed to provide information that can assist established Conservation Trust Funds (CTFs) in analyzing their investment strategies, and to create a foundation upon which new or nascent CTFs can learn from the experience of others.
The main objective of this study is to report on the performance and present the investment strategies and approaches implemented by participating CTFs. A secondary objective is to serve as an educational vehicle to promote discussion about investment management approaches and concepts.
Authors: Katy Mathias and Ray Victurine
Conservation Trust Fund Investment Survey (CTIS) 2017
The eleventh report of the Conservation Trust Fund Survey (CTIS) series has been released and is available for download. The report covers the performance of Conservation Trust Funds during the calendar year of 2017 and relies on information provided by 36 Funds from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia-Pacific about endowments and sinking funds.
Author(s): Katy Mathias and Ray Victurine
December 2018
A webinar recorded on December 18th 2018 discussing the report can be found here.
Conservation Trust Fund Investment Survey (CTIS) 2016
The tenth report of the Conservation Trust Fund Survey (CTIS) series has been released and is available for download. The report covers the performance of Conservation Trust Funds during the calendar year of 2016 and relies on information provided by 38 Funds from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia-Pacific about endowments and sinking funds.
Author(s): Katy Mathias and Ray Victurine
December 2017
Conservation Trust Fund Investment Survey (CTIS) - 2015
The ninth report of the Conservation Trust Fund Survey (CTIS) series has been released and is available for download. The report covers the performance of Conservation Trust Funds during the calendar year of 2015 and relies on information provided by 34 Funds from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia and Oceania about endowments and sinking funds.
Author(s): Katy Mathias and Ray Victurine
December 2016
Conservation Trust Fund Investment Survey (CTIS) - 2014
The eighth report of the Conservation Trust Fund Survey (CTIS) series has been released and is available for download. The report covers the performance of Conservation Trust Funds during the calendar year of 2014 and relies on information provided by 35 Funds from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia and Oceania about endowments and sinking funds.
Author(s): Katy Mathias and Ray Victurine
October 2015
Conservation Trust Fund Investment Survey (CTIS) - 2013
The seventh report of the Conservation Trust Fund Survey (CTIS) series has been released and is available for download. The report covers the performance of Conservation Trust Funds during the calendar year of 2013 and relies on information provided by 43 Funds from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia and Oceania about endowments and sinking funds.
Author(s): Katy Mathias and Ray Victurine
Wednesday, Oct 29 2014
Conservation Trust Fund Investment Survey (CTIS) - 2012
The sixth report of the Conservation Trust Fund Survey (CTIS) series has been released and is available for download. The report covers the performance of Conservation Trust Funds during the calendar year of 2012 and relies on information provided by 36 Funds from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia and Oceania about endowments and sinking funds.
Author(s): Katy Mathias and Ray Victurine
October 2013
Conservation Trust Fund Investment Survey (CTIS) - 2011
The fifth report of the Conservation Trust Fund Survey (CTIS) series has been released and is available for download. The report covers the performance of Conservation Trust Funds during the calendar year of 2011 and relies on information provided by 31 Funds from the Americas, Africa, and Asia about endowments and sinking funds.
Author(s): Marja J. Preston and Ray Victurine
October 2012
Conservation Trust Fund Investment Survey (CTIS) - 2010
The fourth report of the Conservation Trust Fund Survey (CTIS) series has been released and is available for download. The report covers the performance of Conservation Trust Funds during the calendar year of 2010 and relies on information provided by 31 Funds from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia about endowments and sinking funds.
Author(s): Marja J. Preston and Ray Victurine
September 2011
Conservation Trust Fund Investment Survey (CTIS) - 2009
The third report of the Conservation Trust Fund Survey (CTIS) series has been released and is available for download. The report covers the performance of Conservation Trust Funds during the calendar year of 2009 and relies on information provided by 39 Funds from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia about endowments and sinking funds.
Author(s): Marja J. Preston and Ray Victurine
September 2010
Conservation Trust Fund Investment Survey (CTIS) - 2007 & 2008
The second report of the Conservation Trust Fund Survey (CTIS) series has been released and is available for download. The report covers the performance of Conservation Trust Funds during the calendar years of 2007 and 2008 and relies on information provided by 34 Funds from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia about endowments and sinking funds.
Author(s): Marja J. Preston and Ray Victurine
September 2009
Conservation Trust Fund Investment Survey (CTIS) - 2006
The first report of the Conservation Trust Fund Survey (CTIS) series has been released and is available for download. The report covers the performance of Conservation Trust Funds during the calendar year of 2006 and relies on information provided by 25 Funds from the Americas, Africa, and Asia about endowments and sinking funds.
Author(s): Daniel Saccardi
June 2008
2019 NACUBO-TIAA Study of Endowments
Final results from the 2019 NACUBO-TIAA Study of Endowments (NTSE) were released on January 30, 2020. Please see the press release and public tables for summary data and key findings from the 2019 NTSE. A NACUBO-in-Brief Podcast and PowerPoint presentation of key insights from the NTSE are also available. For information from previous studies, please go to our Historic Endowment Study Data page.
Workshop - Investment Management for CTFs
The CTIS Project has developed a multi-day educational workshop for Trustees and senior staff of Conservation Trust Funds, focusing on fundamentals of investment management specifically for CTFs. Presented by James Money-Kyrle and Katy Mathias, the workshop is designed to demystify investment management concepts and make them relevant to CTF leadership, helping to foster better decision-making and building confidence and capacity in the fiduciary role of leading a CTF. The workshop can be customized to a CTFs' needs - focusing on Investment Policy Statement development for newer CTFs, or investment performance review and evaluation for those with several years of investment history. The workshop can be in-person or virtual. More information on the workshop can be found here.
Networks
Confluence Philanthropy is a membership network whose mission is to transform the practice of investing by aligning capital with our community’s values of sustainability, equity, and justice.
Intentional Endowments Network - a peer learning network of colleges, universities, and other mission-driven institutional investors working together to achieve their risk and return objectives through investment actions that create a thriving, sustainable economy.
Their Intentionally Designed Endowment Roadmap guides investors through the key steps in creating an intentionally designed endowment - those that look to align investment practices with institutional mission through sustainable investing (SI), which includes explicitly considering long-term environmental, social, and governance issues in the investment process.
