INVESTING YOUR CHARITY'S MONEY IN CHALLENGING TIMES

As a charity you may already have a handle on raising money and realising the benefits of your fundraising efforts, but have you thought about how to make your existing assets work harder for you? And if you invest, how can you make looking after your funds easier and keep up to date with market trends?

In this challenging environment for charities investing or wishing to invest their surplus, we look at changes in the regulatory world and explore the current hot topic of responsible investing.

At our event during The Gathering, we were joined by experts in the legal and fund management fields to discuss:

  • Changes in charity law and regulation and what it means for investors, presented by Alan Eccles from Brodies LLP.
  • Aligning profit with principles: An introduction to sustainable investing for charities, presented by Craig Bronthron 21 February and Ryan Smith 22 February from Kames Capital.

OUR EXPERT GUEST SPEAKERS

Alan Eccles

Alan Eccles

Partner, Brodies LLP
21 and 22 February

Download Alan's presentation

Alan Eccles is a partner in law firm, Brodies LLP and specialises in charities. Noted as "incisive in his thinking" and a "very compelling speaker" (Chambers 2018), Alan enjoys working in and with charities and the wider third sector as adviser, university lecturer and trustee.

Alan’s work has covered a wide range of issues  to help organisations from service providers to museums, galleries and theatres and even space agency, NASA.  


Craig Bonthron

Craig Bronthron

Investment Manager, Kames Capital
21 February

Download Craig and Ryan's presentation

Craig is an investment manager in Kames Capital’s global equities team and co-manager of the Kames Global Sustainable Equity Fund. He joined Kames Capital in 2014 from Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, where he was an investment director for global equities. Before that he was a portfolio manager at Kleinwort Benson Investors and a member of the global environmental equity team.

Craig has a First Class honours degree in Building Surveying and an MSc with Distinction in Business Information Technology Systems from Strathclyde Business School. He has 16 years’ investment experience.

Ryan Smith

Ryan Smith

Head of ESG Research, Kames Capital
22 February

Download Craig and Ryan's presentation

Ryan is Head of ESG Research at Kames Capital. He joined the firm in 2000 as an SRI analyst and was appointed to his current role in September 2002. Ryan’s team oversees the environmental, social and governance screening process for Kames Capital’s range of ethical and sustainable funds. He also oversees corporate governance screening and research for all equity investments, and conducts research into environmental and social issues.

Before joining Kames Capital he worked as an environmental chemist for Severn Trent Water. Ryan has an MSc in Environmental Chemistry from Nottingham Trent University and is a CFA charterholder. He has 17 years’ industry experience.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF INVESTING?

As a charity, there are several reasons why you might want to invest your money:

  • Maximise your long-term funds, in line with the Charity Commission guidance.
  • Generate a sustainable, reliable income to support your charity.
  • The potential to grow your money to expand in the future.
  • Could protect your funds against the impact of inflation.
  • The potential to generate better returns than holding cash in a bank account.
Find out why charities should invest.
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Investment involves risk. The value of investments, and the income from them, can go down as well as up and an investor may get back less than the amount invested.  There is no guarantee about the level of capital or income returns that will be generated. Past performance is not a guide to future results.

CAF Financial Solutions Limited (CFSL) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under registration number 189450. CFSL Registered office is 25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4TA. Registered in England and Wales under number 2771873. CFSL is a subsidiary of Charities Aid Foundation (registered charity number 268369).

Full legal information

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