It’s an investment, not a gift

Since 2004, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation has received voluntary income and donations of over $2.4 billion. Over the past decade, the endowment has grown to a value of $6 billion (2020), after charitable activities and costs.

The Board of Trustees has developed  an investment strategy for the endowment which provides for investing in a diverse portfolio of financial investments with a long-term horizon. The endowment investment objectives are to:

1. Seek inflation-adjusted return of at least 6% per annum over a 10-year rolling period.
2. Ensure appropriate liquidity and risk controls while also permitting illiquid investments with the potential for high return.
3. Diversify investments across a range of asset classes and industry sectors.

The Foundation has substantially increased the level of planned and actual charitable disbursements in recent years, in particular in response to the Climate emergency, the need to support selected high impact programmes impacted by UK government funding cuts and funding of Big Win Philanthropy.  The Board keeps the level of expenditure under close review with a view to securing the long term future of the Foundation with the many calls on its resources for critical charitable work.

Investing responsibly 

The Trustees recognise that investments in certain sectors may be harmful to the foundation’s charitable objectives and mission. Therefore, investments in such companies or entities are prohibited where an investee or company:

• Generates any turnover from the business of manufacturing tobacco products and tobacco marketing.
• Markets breast milk substitutes unless they have committed to adopt the World Health Organisation’s International Code of Marketing Breast Milk Substitutes.
• Generates 10% or more of turnover from extracting, stockpiling, distributing or trading fossil fuels.
• Generates 25% or more of turnover from the development, production, manufacture, distribution, stockpiling, transfer or sale of arms.

If a company in which the foundation is invested falls into one of these categories, or commences business in such a category, our investment manager will aim to divest from such an investment within 12 months.