At Fairlight Advisors, we have long advocated that a nonprofit endowment investment strategy include a well-diversified, global market portfolio which includes both equity and fixed income allocations to emerging markets. The last five years of returns have been lumpy for Emerging Markets to say the least. While there were some bright spots such as China’s faster recovery from the pandemic in Q’3 of 2020, there were Read More
What’s on the Fixed Income Menu: An Array of Solutions for Nonprofit Reserves
Imagine a toolbox with only one tool: a hammer. The hammer is versatile for projects big and small, but if you’re building a house, as we all know, a toolbox with a lonely hammer won’t get the job done. In the same way, building a financially resilient nonprofit needs a variety of financial planning tools to fund the philanthropic mission. Yet several small to midsized nonprofits park all their funds—whether for Read More
Nonprofit Investing: 3 Things to Remember
During market volatility, nonprofit leaders and board members can begin to get nervous about the endowments investments. While most nonprofits can refer to their investment policy for guidance, it also helps to remember three important concepts when reviewing your nonprofit’s long-term investment. 1. Target allocations are an investor’s friend. We work with our clients to develop a target asset allocation after a Read More
Recession or Not? A Conversation with Bill Kan, Candent Capital
We recently spoke to Bill Kan, the founder of Candent Capital, a firm based in the Bay Area providing financial planning, investment and wealth management services, to ask him what he thinks about all of the buzz around whether we are going to suffer another recession, after having experienced one two years ago. So Bill are we going to have a recession or not and what should nonprofit endowment investors be prepared Read More
Nonprofit Endowment Investing During a War in 9 Charts
Nonprofit endowments with funds to deploy toward their philanthropic mission have been trying to make sense of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The conflict has created another setback for a global economy struggling to recover from the ravages of the pandemic. The West’s economic sanctions have spurred investors to dump Russian assets, causing the ruble to lose over two-thirds of its value vs. the dollar almost 10 days Read More
SPACs, Dogecoin, Meme Stocks: The Dangers of Social Media Investment Sensations
My middle school daughter assured me a boxslide on skis was a piece of cake. After all, she’d watched the pros do it effortlessly on YouTube. As we stood atop the snow park run, I convinced myself I had what it took to “stomp” the trick, having skied for over four decades. No matter that I’d never tried anything like this before. Or that I was super tentative approaching the box (I’m leaning so far back!). Or that I Read More
The Global Market Portfolio: A Super-Efficient Portfolio as a Foundation for the Disciplined, Purpose-Focused Investor
A once-in-a-lifetime pandemic has unleashed economic chaos about the globe. Economic success in one country seems to elude another. Weak economic indicators don’t seem to affect stock markets meaningfully one day until they do the next. As a result, financial professionals, economists, and investment experts, who have never seen anything like it, are grasping at straws to predict what comes next. Tactical moves to Read More
Up-and-Down-and-Up-and-Down: Q2 2020 Fairlight Global Markets Snapshot
Short and sharp, Fairlight’s Global Markets Snapshot summarizes the economic backdrop to Q’2 2020’s volatile results asset class by asset class. Up one day, down the next. Since late February, it’s been difficult to track markets reacting to the relentless effects of the coronavirus pandemic. While we’ve seen a rebound recently as economies slowly open, more declines may be ahead of us. A portfolio globally Read More
Afraid to Talk About Money?
Sharing our financial challenges and insecurities can bring relief and ideas on how to take control of our financial futures. Many of us were taught as children and young adults not to talk about money. “It’s vulgar,” our parents would say, or “That’s rude to ask someone what they make or how much their house costs.” Instead we ruminate in private about these things, slyly looking up our friends’ houses on Zillow Read More
Active vs. Passive Investment Management
Active Investment Management or Passive Investment Management? That is THE question. Among investment professionals, anyway. While these two investment approaches can spark heated debate, few investors can effectively describe the difference. But understanding the difference between Active and Passive investing is consequential to your investment portfolio. Active Investing Summarized Let’s start with active Read More
