Responsibility for investments sits with every trustee, says ACF report
Melanie May | 8 July 2020 | News
Foundations must approach their investments with mission at the forefront of their thinking while each and every trustee must take a role in the decision making, the Association of Charitable Foundations has said.
In the ACF’s latest report, Investment: The Pillars of Stronger Foundation Practice, the fifth report emerging from its Stronger Foundations initiative, it sets out seven characteristics of excellent practice.
The pillars emphasise the role of each and every trustee in engaging with the foundation’s investment, and also include prioritising mission when setting investment objectives, holding investment managers to account, pursuing transparency, and seeking to influence the investment behaviour of others.
The report also highlights the importance of seeking a wide range of views, ensuring diverse voices are heard and learning from peers in the foundation sector and beyond.
ACF Chief Executive Carol Mack said:
“Society is demanding ever greater transparency from institutions and asset holders, about the sources of that wealth and how it is invested and stewarded. New approaches to creating a sustainable economy are emerging and the climate crisis means action is both necessary and urgent. Foundations will need to move forward to avoid falling behind.
“Now is the time to take action. With this offering, we aim to show how foundations of any size can approach their investments with mission at the forefront of their thinking, whatever that mission may be. Thinking about investments is not the preserve of large foundations, nor of those trustees with specific expertise; it is relevant to all foundations looking to maximise the impact of their resources.”
Chair of the Investment working group Danielle Walker Palmour added:
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“As UK charitable foundations, some of the most capital-rich organisations in the charity sector representing over £67 billion, the reality is that most of our assets are invisible, even to us. But investment strategy is integral to foundation strategy.
“As members of this working group, we have explored how investments can be brought into our strategic arsenal to be of true service to our missions. It is vital we engage with and shape that work to ensure it is consistent with our objectives.”
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.