CAF COMMENT: CHARITIES CAN DECIDE INVESTMENTS FOR THEMSELVES

   
4 March 2019

Commenting on a campaign to restrict charity investment choices reported in The Times newspaper today, Sir John Low, Chief Executive of the Charities Aid Foundation, said:

“It is fundamental to our democracy that charities have the right to speak out and act to promote their chosen cause, whether that is by campaigning or by the ways they invest, which is why we’ve been making responsible investment options available to charities for many years.

“Official guidance already makes it clear that trustees can adopt responsible investment policies and have to justify their investment decisions but we do need to do more to ensure that these important issues are understood and applied more effectively.

“There are many powerful ways in which charities can use investments to further their mission and tackle issues like climate change, health, poverty, inequality and human rights so it is vital that they have the freedom to take a stand on the issues that are most important for their mission and the people they serve.

“Our experience from offering ethical funds over many years is that the moral judgements involved are often very complex and challenging.  We do need to be careful not to create universal prohibitions on particular investment areas that might stop charity trustees from fulfilling their mission."