President Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt State of the Association Premieres
President Sofía’s State of the Association address occurred on Monday, March 30, offering a wide‑ranging reflection on the Unitarian Universalist Association’s recent history, current initiatives, and the challenges facing the Association today, with a section near minute 40 on finance and the Common Endowment — “…we have to get better at talking about our finances together.” The […]
UUCEF Joins Engagement Effort on Corporate Governance and Risk at Target
The Unitarian Universalist Common Endowment Fund (UUCEF) participated in a collaborative shareholder engagement initiative addressing governance and reputational risk at Target Corporation. Alongside a coalition of faith-based and mission-aligned investors, UUCEF joined a letter to the company’s board raising concerns about whether recent public decisions and communications may have introduced reputational, operational, and financial risks […]
The Performance Impact of Values-Based Restrictions
In a recent portfolio review with the Endowment’s Investment Committee, US large stock portfolio manager Xponance provided a clear, quantitative look at how values-based investment restrictions affected performance in 2025, an issue frequently raised by investors seeking to values alignment with suitable investment returns. For those quantitatively curious, their findings are presented below in detail. The key […]
Active Equity Update: Takeaways Entering 2026
2025 remained a difficult environment for many traditional active equity strategies, as markets continued to be narrow and benchmark-driven. In recent research, the Endowment’s investment consultant NEPC noted that fundamentally driven and quality-oriented managers have faced persistent headwinds, though these approaches could meaningfully improve if market sentiment and breadth shift. A major driver of equity […]
UU Common Endowment Fund: 2025 Highlights and 2026 Priorities
2025 was a strong and formative year for the UU Common Endowment Fund (UUCEF). With the oversight of the Investment Committee, the diligence of NEPC, and the work of UUA Finance and the UUA Investment Office, the Fund advanced both competitive performance and deep values alignment. 2025 at a Glance Looking Ahead: 2026 Priorities For […]
UU Common Endowment Fund Selects Untapped Capital to Accelerate Community Investing
The UU Common Endowment Fund (UUCEF) has engaged Untapped Capital Consulting as a specialized advisor to help build and scale its Community Investing (CI) program, a mission-aligned portfolio that currently represents approximately 5% of the UUCEF endowment. UUCEF’s Community Investments provide capital to support development initiatives in low-income communities in the United States and in […]
November Monthly Commentary
Following months of strong returns, global equities took a pause in November. During this period, the S&P 500 Index eked out a modest 0.2% gain amid a relatively positive backdrop of robust corporate earnings, rising expectations for interest rate cuts in the near term, and an end to the longest U.S. government shutdown on record. […]
The UUCEF Adds Index Funds and Reduces Manager Fees, Maintaining UU Values Alignment
Here are two visuals that tell a strategic story about the UU Common Endowment Fund (UUCEF). The first shows actively managed vs. passive passively managed fund allocations over time (excluding cash, community investments, and private markets). “Passive” here means index-replicating strategies, or “index funds” in common terms (chosen with screens to align with UUCEF values […]
October Performance Report Update
Over the last few months we’ve received several inquires about screening and how each manager fits within the fund. In response, we’ve added a new page to the UUCEF Performance Report, Impact Summary. We hope this new page helps to provide a better understanding of each manager within the portfolio. Each manager listed shows if […]
December Monthly Commentary
Equity markets held their ground in December, with the S&P 500 adding just 0.1% driven by value outperforming growth equities amid heightened scrutiny around the valuations of AI companies. International equities sustained their rally with a tailwind coming from a weakening U.S. dollar. The MSCI ACWI ex-U.S. Index finished the month with returns of 3.0%, […]