When committees come into their own

DELEGATE TO ACCUMULATE

Trustees can make investment decisions themselves, but in practice many choose to delegate investment decisions to experts, such as external managers and/or advisers, for maximum impact. In the much larger charities, they may even delegate investment decisions to internal professionals.

Whichever route they choose, trustees must demonstrate that they still have overall control of decision-making and have complied with their duties, in line with best practice as set out in the Good Governance Code: "Delegation to committees, staff and volunteers (as applicable) works effectively and the use of delegated authority is properly supervised."

QUARTERLY COMMITTEE MEETINGS MAKE SENSE

It's also important for committees to think carefully about how many times a year they meet. While there is no one ideal number, for more complex portfolios, quarterly meetings are typically seen as the minimum frequency to ensure that investments are closely monitored at all times. However, demands on committee members' time need to be taken into account, particularly if they're also full trustees and/or sit on other committees.

CHALLENGE THE STATUS QUO

Doing something because it is what has always been done is not good enough. Having the right approach in place, whether through an investment committee or not, is crucial to enabling trustees to fulfil both their duty of care - and their duty to maximise return on their investments.