December Monthly Commentary
Markets ended the year with a whimper in December as post-election euphoria waned in the United States. Domestic equities finished the month down 2.4% with value stocks bearing the brunt of the losses with declines of 6.8%; meanwhile, growth stocks eked out gains of 0.9%. Small-cap equities continue to lag, falling 7.5% in December. Global […]
Unitarian Universalist Association Announces Appointment of Mathew Jensen, CFA as New Investment Office Head
The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is announcing that it has appointed Mathew Jensen, CFA, as its Senior Investment Officer. In this role, he will provide investment leadership and oversight for the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Common Endowment Fund. “We are excited to welcome Mathew to this role. He is a values-consistent investor, researcher, and business leader […]
‘We Do Our Homework’: Unitarian Endowment Scouting ESG, International Investments
This month the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Common Endowment Fund was profiled in the Financial Times’ Mandate Wire publication. They highlighted the UUA’s focus on climate-related investments, diverse-owned investment managers, and socially responsible investing, with a careful eye on global economic trends and U.S. policy shifts. The article also underscored UUA’s defense of its socially […]
November Monthly Commentary
Following the U.S. elections, markets were quick to digest a mix of higher growth but potentially inflationary policies around tariffs, taxes, immigration and deregulation. In response, U.S. equities significantly outperformed in November with small-cap stocks leading the charge in anticipation of a more favorable regulatory and tax environment; the Russell 2000 Index was up 11% […]
The environmental impact of fossil fuel investments by major asset managers like Vanguard
We are occasionally asked about Vanguard relative to the UUA Common Endowment Fund. This recent report by the independent non-profit Reveal: “Your Retirement Investments Are Probably Fueling Climate Change” explores the environmental impact of fossil fuel investments by major asset managers like Vanguard, focusing on their role in financing large-scale fossil fuel projects known as […]
October Monthly Commentary
Global markets were spooked in October as nearly all major stock and bond indexes ended the month in the red. During this period, the S&P 500 was down 0.9% with smaller-cap equities underperforming amid declines of 1.4% in the Russell 2000 Index. Non-U.S. stocks took a deeper dive with a strong U.S. dollar. The MSCI […]
UUA Welcomes Three New Investment Committee Members
UUA welcomed three new investment committee members this year, bringing diverse perspectives and experience to the Committee and oversight of the Common Endowment Fund. Amrita Sankar is an MIT and Dartmouth schooled leader in Bain Capital’s Environmental, Social and Governance team, with experience in shareholder activism and impact investing. Randy Webb was a career corporate treasurer […]
UUA Pushes Back on Congressional Critique of Climate 100+ and ‘Woke’ Investing
In a letter, the Unitarian Universalist Association affirmed that it is “freely exercising its faith and beliefs and well within its protected free speech rights” by investing the Common Endowment Fund with climate justice goals.
September Monthly Commentary
Stocks enjoyed another month of gains in September as positive economic momentum fueled the bull market. U.S. stocks finished September up 2.1% with growth outperforming value by 1.4%. Small-cap stocks eked out gains of 0.7% for the month, lagging their large-cap counterparts by over 10% year-to-date. Global stocks returned 2.3% with the EAFE Index up […]
January Monthly Commentary
Markets began the year on a rocky note but ended the month in the black across most major indexes. During this period, U.S. equities were up 2.8% with value stocks leading the way. Growth and AI-related stocks stumbled on the news that DeepSeek’s AI model could potentially produce results similar to its peers at significantly […]