As the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc across the global economy, 55% of U.S. endowments and foundations expect a recession as severe as the one in 2008, the investment consulting firm NEPC reported Thursday.
Forty-one percent of these organizations expect a short, sharp COVID-19-driven recession followed by a strong recovery.
Nuveen’s chief equity strategist Robert Doll wrote this week that he expects the recession to be severe and rapid, with 2020 GDP growth of -3%.
NEPC’s endowments and foundations practice group conducted an online flash poll in March amid the COVID-19 outbreak among 105 respondents across education endowments and community, family, private and public charity foundations.
Sixty-one percent of respondents reported that they were rebalancing their portfolios in response to recent market moves. Fourteen percent said they were working to raise additional cash, 13% were reducing their overall risk exposure and 5% were lowering their private market exposure.