The Church of England’s multibillion-pound investment fund made “stellar” returns of more than 17 per cent on investments last year, its strongest performance in more than three decades and more than double its 2015 returns.
The £7.9bn investment fund showed particularly strong performances in private and global equities, residential property and timber in 2016, according to the Financial Times. Its success now places it in the highest ranks of the world’s strongest performing endowment funds. It has even overtaken the highly prestigious Yale Endowment Fund in the course of the past decade.
Managed by the Church Commissioners for England, the fund aims to “support the work and mission of the Church of England … ensuring a Christian presence in every community”.
First Church Estates Commissioner Sir Andreas Whittam Smith congratulated the fund’s “stellar out-turn” and said the 17.1 per cent return was “well ahead of our return target in 2016 … Inflation plus five percentage points was 7.5 per cent.”
With a focus on ethical investing, the fund is managed by the Church Commissioners for England, which has an in-house team of 35 investment professionals.
The secretary and chief executive of the Church Commissioners, Andrew Brown, said the fund contributed £230.7m to the work and mission of the Church of England in 2016, which represents a 5.6 per cent increase on 2015. However, Brown added: “This is only around 15 per cent of the Church’s overall income – most funding comes from the extraordinary generosity of parishioners.”
The returns “make a tangible difference to the lives of thousands across the country” via “funding city-centre churches, community projects in low-income areas or research programmes to examine how the church can grow”, Brown said.
The Church of England was criticised by campaigners for its investment in companies that make a profit out of fossil fuels recently after it emerged that Welby was instrumental in bringing to an end a City firm's investment in fossil fuels while the Church of England continues to invest in oil companies like ExxonMobil, Shell and BP.
“When a major private company drops its fossil fuel investments for ethical reasons, one must ask whether the Church of England’s policy is keeping pace. So far it has taken the approach that engagement with fossil fuel companies is the way forward, not divestment,” Tom Viita, Christian Aid’s Head of Advocacy said earlier this month.
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