Many endowments, foundations and their allocators point to relatively small or medium-size private equity buyout and early-stage venture capital for returns that outpace the public markets, while private real estate, infrastructure, hedge funds and private debt, especially asset-based lending look like strong portfolio diversifiers in this year’s mercurial environment.
Nonprofit investors and allocators are tempering expectations for their portfolios in 2026 as they prepare for more moderate returns resulting from increased volatility and heightened valuations along with persistent macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties.