Friends Provident Foundation triples its impact investment allocation
Melanie May | 26 August 2022 | News
Friends Provident Foundation announced this week that its impact investment allocation has increased to a third of its endowment – up from 10%.
To achieve this, it is more than doubling its investment in impact fund Snowball with immediate effect and will then invest a further £1mn for every £10mn Snowball raises.
Snowball is a diversified, multi-asset class, impact fund that invests across the themes of social equity and environmental sustainability.
Advertisement
Danielle Walker-Palmour, Director, Friends Provident Foundation said:
“A whole endowment approach brings immense mission value. Plus, we estimate our increased allocation to impact investing of 33% of our endowment will result in an estimated income foregone of just 0.46% compared to our existing portfolio. We believe this income foregone, the equivalent of a couple of grants per year, is excellent value for the significant contribution to mission and positive impact.”
The foundation is joined by the Golden Bottle Trust, which is to double its own investment in Snowball. Existing investors in the fund include Trust for London, The EIRIS Foundation, The Ian Taylor Family Foundation and City Bridge Trust.
Colin Baines, Investment Engagement Manager, Friends Provident Foundation commented:
“Making and managing a portfolio of direct impact investments is resource intensive and may not be feasible for many foundations. This common barrier is one of the reasons we became a founding partner in Snowball five years ago. Now it is accessible to smaller investors and has established a successful track record of delivering social, environmental, and financial returns on investment, we are delighted to be supporting it to scale and challenge market incumbents with new best practice.”
Related posts
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.