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May 3, 2023 - Since our founding in 1930, HighGround’s team of legal experts has helped charitably minded individuals creatively and strategically support the important work of nonprofits. Our team can help individuals and families establish a charitable giving plan based on their unique needs and goals, utilizing tools like gift annuities ... Read More

March 27, 2023 - HighGround Advisors is moving from a fund of hedge funds to a direct portfolio. But why? And what exactly IS a hedge fund? HighGround Director of Public Markets Steven Thieme shares his expertise about the asset class and HighGround's approach to investing in hedge funds.

March 22, 2023 - To acknowledge dedicated and thoughtful employees who embody our core values, HighGround established the Tal Award, named for former HighGround COO Tal Roberts. The award recipient is selected by HighGround peers through a nomination process.

At our annual all-staff Vision Meeting in February, Ruth Price was nam ... Read More

March 3, 2023 - Private credit has become an institutionalized and deeply capitalized asset class over the past ten years. But what exactly IS private credit? HighGround Director of Private Markets Philip Godfrey shares his expertise about the asset class and closes our series with HighGrou ... Read More

March 1, 2023 - Private credit has become an institutionalized and deeply capitalized asset class over the past ten years. But what exactly IS private credit? In this series, HighGround Director of Private Markets Philip Godfrey shares his expertise about the asset class, outlining its key ... Read More

February 27, 2023 - Private credit has become an institutionalized and deeply capitalized asset class over the past ten years. But what exactly IS private credit? In this series, HighGround Director of Private Markets Philip Godfrey shares his expertise about the asset class and, in this po ... Read More

February 23, 2023 - Private credit has become an institutionalized and deeply capitalized asset class over the past ten years. But what exactly IS private credit? In this series, HighGround Director of Private Markets Philip Godfrey shares his expertise about the asset class, beginning with definitio ... Read More

January 12, 2023 - Are you maximizing your charitable giving in retirement? A qualified charitable distribution (QCD) is one way to do just that, and since recent legislation has expanded QCDs, now is a good time to take a fresh look at this unique way to give.

At age 73, individuals must begin t ... Read More

December 19, 2022 – Have you ever wondered if there is a way to improve the return on your nonprofit’s invested operating reserves with minimum risk and ample flexibility? In this market, some investors may benefit from building a short-term Treasury ladder. A Treasury ladder is an investment strategy used by investors to minimize ri ... Read More

December 8, 2022 - In a recent blog post, we reviewed the latest donor-advised fund (DAF) growth statistics and considered the charitable giving vehicle’s skyrocketing popularity among donors. It’s true a DAF can help do ... Read More

December 6, 2022 - National Philanthropic Trust (NPT) recently released its 2022 Donor-Advised Fund Report, which captures data from the 2021 fiscal year of nearly 1,000 donor-advised fund (DAF) sponsors. As the report notes, the U.S. economy grew in 2021, wi ... Read More

December 2, 2022 – December is here, and holiday gift-giving is upon us. Some of us finished buying gifts for family and friends weeks ago and now have them beautifully wrapped under the tree. Others of us have only just begun Googling “gift ideas for mother-in-law” and are prepared to pay for expedited shipping. Wherever you a ... Read More

November 21, 2022 - In our real estate series, we have explained why owners of appreciated property may consider donating their real estate to receive an income tax deduction and avoid capital gains tax. In Part 1, we considered various giving vehicles, and in ... Read More

November 17, 2022 - As we discussed in Part 1, the real estate market may be cooling due to rising interest rates, making it a great time to donate appreciated property to obtain a charitable deduction and avoid capital gains tax. We looked at how the gift vehicle you use ... Read More

November 15, 2022 - The Texas real estate market is showing signs of cooling off, following home prices that soared by nearly 30% in the past two years. Inflation hitting a 40-year high and the corresponding rapid succession of interest rate hikes threw wate ... Read More

August 17, 2022 - HighGround was pleased to have two interns with us this summer. We recently sat down, fireside, to learn more about our Investments intern, Joseph Isbell, and his experience working at HighGround.

Where are you from? What school do you go t ... Read More

August 17, 2022 - HighGround was pleased to have two interns with us this summer. We recently sat down, fireside, to learn more about our Client Solutions intern, Josiah Niekerk, and his experience working at HighGround.

Where are you from? Where do you go t ... Read More

July 11, 2022 - Operating reserves are vital to the health of a nonprofit. But what should you do with them until they are needed?

An operating reserve is an undesignated portion of a nonprofit’s net assets that is set aside to sustain the organization through unexpected challenges. It serves as an emergency fund, a rainy ... Read More

July 5, 2022 - Having defined private equity in Part 1 and described its key characteristics in Part 2, we turn now to HighGround's approach to investing in private equity.

Hi ... Read More

June 30, 2022 - Private equity investing differs from public equity investing in significant ways. Having defined private equity (PE) in Part 1, we now consider private equity's key characteristics.

A private equity ... Read More

June 28, 2022 - The term “private equity” has become an integral part of almost every conversation about investing, owing to private equity’s prominence in the business media as a capital provider, deal maker and generator of consistently high returns to investors. Private equity investment activity and fund ownership are ... Read More

May 31, 2022 - Whether politics, pandemic, surging inflation or rising energy prices, divisiveness and uncertainty abound in our country today. You may be wondering how current events and future outcomes will affect your investments. At HighGround, we wish to give you peace of mind by stewarding well what you have entrusted to us and by reso ... Read More

May 3, 2022 - A charity must determine whether selling or retaining gifts of mineral interests will provide the greatest benefit over the long term. While mineral interests may be readily sold through various brokers, most buyers will only be willing to pay a purchase price of approximately 1½ to 2 times annual production. As a result, it ... Read More

April 28, 2022 - Even before a donor approaches your charity with a gift of mineral interests, you should be prepared to receive such a gift by having acceptance policies in place and understanding the appraisal process.

Charities should have acceptance policies addressing the critical issue ... Read More

April 26, 2022 - We could say your real estate property is like an apple pie. The surface of your property is the pie’s crust, and the minerals beneath your property’s surface make up the gooey apple filling. If you’re considering gifting your pie's crust to charity without the filling, remember what HighGround General Cou ... Read More

April 21, 2022 - Many are watching the oil and gas industry these days as world events continue to affect production, supply and prices. While these minerals are on the mind, we thought it would be a good time to consider them in a different way, to see how minerals can be put on mission to support the work of nonprofits.

As drilling tec ... Read More

April 6, 2022 - Have you read the recently released World Happiness Report 2022?

The report is largely based on data from the Gallup World Poll, which surveys about 1,000 people per country in nearly 200 countries. Among other things, participants are asked to evaluate and scor ... Read More

March 10, 2022 - As an independent nonprofit organization since 1859, Baylor Line Foundation has a rich history of informing, inspiring, and empowering Baylor University’s students and graduates. Each year at their Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony, the Foundation recognizes the accomplishments of Baylor alumni who serve and lead across a varie ... Read More

March 7, 2022 - We asked HighGround Oil and Gas Manager Will Francis to provide context for what is happening in the oil and gas industry right now as well as what we can expect in the months to come.

Oil price - The WTI (West Texas Intermediate) price was $76 on January 3rd of this year. The price as of March 7th wa ... Read More

February 25, 2022 

INCREASED VOLATILITY EXPECTED 

This week’s Russian invasion of Ukraine marks a new reality of increased geopolitical risks and uncertainties that will likely linger for years to come. In Europe, President Putin may bring the military conflict to other Eastern European countries, while in As ... Read More

To acknowledge dedicated and thoughtful employees who embody our core values, HighGround established the Tal Award, named for former HighGround COO Tal Roberts. The award recipient is selected by HighGround peers through a nomination process.

At our annual all-staff Vision Meeting earlier this month, Chrissy Surles was named as ... Read More

February 9, 2022 - In case you missed the most recent edition of  Insights, our quarterly newsletter, here’s our current market outlook for 2022.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: A Moderating Growth Rate but Healthy Global Economy

January 13, 2022 - After more than 20 years of service to HighGround, former CIO Joe Wright retired at the end of last year. We sat down, fireside, with Joe to reflect on his career and to celebrate his significant contributions to HighGround and the important work of our client partners.

What was your work exp ... Read More

December 7, 2021 - National Philanthropic Trust (NPT) recently released its 2021 Donor-Advised Fund Report, which captures data from the 2020 fiscal year. Let’s take a look at the new information provided by NPT.

December 2, 2021 - After more than 15 years of enthusiastic service to HighGround and our client partners, HighGrounder Yvonne Moreno retires later this month. In her time at HighGround, she has not only provided excellent administrative support for our investment team, she has also committed herself to learning about the investmen ... Read More

November 30, 2021 - The holidays are upon us. While we prepare for the celebrations, string lights, coordinate travel schedules, and fill up Amazon carts with Christmas gifts for the family, it’s also time to make our year-end giving plans.  

Cash, check and credit card are the most common ways to give and for good reason. It& ... Read More

August 10, 2021

August 11, 2021 - After twenty years of joyful service to HighGround and our client partners, HighGrounder Frances Jenkins is retiring this week. In her time at HighGround, she has supported our mission as accounting assistant, account administrator/manager and, most recently, as office coordinator. We sat down, fireside,  ... Read More

August 4, 2021 - In June, HighGround announced the hiring of our new CIO, Helge Rokenes. You can read the full press release here. We recently sat down, fireside, with Helge to get to know him better.

Welcome to HighGround! Ok, first thing&rsqu ... Read More

May 20, 2021 - Last month, inflation rose at its fastest rate since the economic recession of 2008. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that in April, headline inflation, which includes energy and food prices, jumped 4.2% from a year ago. Understandably, this spike has some long-term investors and endowed institutions concerned ... Read More

May 11, 2021 - To acknowledge dedicated and thoughtful employees who embody our core values, HighGround established the Tal Award, named for former HighGround COO Tal Roberts. The award recipient is selected by HighGround peers through a nomination process.

At our virtual, all-staff vision meeting last February, Lacy Cagle was ... Read More

April 21, 2021 - Tal Roberts served HighGround Advisors from 1969 – 1997. He embodied our core values: he put the client first and was servant-hearted, he acted with integrity and promoted innovation, he was a visionary and led with professional excellence. To acknowledge dedicated and thoughtful employees like Tal, HighGround est ... Read More

April 1, 2021 - Donor-advised funds (DAFs) are vehicles that allow individuals to maximize their charitable impact by giving in a tax-advantageous way. As the vehicle continues to grow in popularity, perhaps you have wondered, "Is a DAF right for me?" In this series, we will highlight case studies of individuals who chose to give through a DAF a ... Read More

March 23, 2021 - In 2019, there were 873,228 donor-advised funds with a combined total of $141.95 billion. That’s nearly $142 billion already set aside and earmarked for charity. Your nonprofit’s mission is important, and you need funding to sustain the imp ... Read More

March 19, 2021 - HighGrounder Amie Meldrum’s son, Darran, is an Airman in the United States Air Force. He has dedicated himself in service to our country. And in 2019, HighGround had the opportunity to serve him as he served us all. 

Darran and his group of airmen were stationed overseas and in need of some provisions. HighGro ... Read More

March 4, 2021 - Each year, HighGround develops a strategic theme to help guide us and grow us. The theme is a simple phrase that reminds us of an important idea to be applied to our work.

When we unveiled our 2020 theme, Flexible Focus, at our all-staff vision meeting last year, we discussed the importance of pursuing our g ... Read More

March 2, 2021 - While the oil and gas industry is accustomed to highs and lows, the downturn caused by the pandemic last year was historic. What now? HighGround's Oil and Gas Manager, Will Francis, is our guide as we look back at what happened in 2020 and look ahead to what 2021 might hold for the industry.

February 26, 2021 - In case you missed the most recent edition of Insights, our quarterly newsletter, here’s our current market outlook.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: We anticipate above average economic growth.

February 11, 2021 - Last week, National Philanthropic Trust (NPT) released its 2020 Donor-Advised Fund Report, which captures data from the 2019 fiscal year. Since the new Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) Report is focused on 2019 data, it does not cove ... Read More

January 28, 2021 - The donor-advised fund (DAF) continues its meteoric rise in popularity, yet there are still some misconceptions about the tax-efficient giving vehicle. In this article, we’re clearing up the confusion and debunking the seven most common myths surrounding DAFs.