UUCEF Deepens Understanding and Collaboration with Faith Peers
The Unitarian Universalist Common Endowment Fund (UUCEF) is strengthening its collaboration with other faith investors and Unitarian Universalist partners in 2026 as part of its ongoing commitment to strong values-aligned investment performance and effective corporate engagement Faith-based investors across traditions often face similar challenges: how to generate strong long-term returns while ensuring investments reflect shared […]
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 […]
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 Monthly Commentary
Global equities continued their stellar run in October with technology stocks driving markets higher across the world. During this period, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index led the way with returns of 4.2% with strong support from Taiwanese and South Korean equity markets. The S&P 500 gained 2.3% in October, benefitting from another strong earnings season […]
Notable Enhancements to the UU Common Endowment Fund
We’ve made a few notable enhancements to the UU Common Endowment Fund (UUCEF) since September, making decisions through the lens of UU values – with each of these, we are living up to our commitments to invest in underserved communities, address both health and economic inequality, and promote environmental justice, while seeking risk adjusted financial […]