A new collaborative initiative, the Charity Investment Consulting Partnership (CICP), has been launched by leading independent consultancy Broadstone to enhance investment practices and outcomes within the UK charity sector.
It brings together leading independent investment consulting firms, including Aon, LCP, Barnett Waddingham, Hymans Robertson, XPS Group, ARC and PMCL Consulting.
The CICP is an open partnership for all independent investment consulting firms offering regulated advisory services to charities. The partnership is a collective effort designed to improve the overall investment landscape for charities by providing a forum for collaboration, sharing best practices, training, and promoting greater transparency.
This collaborative approach is intended to ensure that charities receive impartial advice and can navigate the often complex investment landscape more effectively.
For example, it will provide recommendations to membership organisations, governance groups and the Charity Commission, offer education and clarity on the role of independent advisers for charities, facilitate joint training and promote information sharing and collaboration between associated charities and sector stakeholders.
By creating an environment where independent consultants can work together, the CICP seeks to empower charities with the knowledge and resources necessary to make more informed investment decisions, ultimately enhancing the financial stability and effectiveness of their programmes.
Commenting on the launch, Rachel Titchen, Charities and Investment Director at Broadstone and Chairman of CICP, said: “We want to ensure all charities are able to access investment support to manage their investments. We have seen many organisations missing out on valuable returns, particularly because of holding excess cash, and we believe one of the best ways to promote change is to increase education and collaboration amongst advisers. Setting up this partnership seemed the right step to do this.
“Bringing together leading investment consulting peers, the CICP aims to help charities overcome the challenges they face, enabling them to achieve both their investment and philanthropic objectives.”
Matt Hurshman, Associate Partner at Aon, says: “The need among charities for deep investment expertise, agile decision-making and execution, as well as sound investment governance, has increased with the expanding scope and complexity of the investment options available. Through the Charity Investment Consultants Partnership, Aon aims to advocate and educate charities on best practice investment governance and implementation.”
Matthew Gold, Head of Charity & Endowment Investment at Barnett Waddingham, added: “We are pleased to be a founding member of the CICP and look forward to collaboratively applying our industry experience to improve investment outcomes for charities, pushing forward their missions as a result. At Barnett Waddingham, we have a long history of providing investment advice to the third sector, which we feel requires an independent and non-conflicted approach. We see real value in working with others to empower charities to make purposeful, well-informed decisions.”
Alasdair Gill, Head of Charities & Endowments at XPS Group, said: “XPS believes that UK charities and endowments can benefit greatly from input from the investment consultant industry in navigating the complex investment world. Whilst some already take independent advice from consultants, many rely on asset managers who can have conflicting interests. We welcome this initiative to promote the use of intermediaries in a transparent and open way to help the sector improve their investment outcomes”.
Tatyana Mursalimov, CEO of PMCL Consulting, added: "At PMCL, our primary focus has always been on the charity sector. Our deep understanding of the unique challenges faced by not-for-profit organisations allows us to provide tailored, strategic advice. By joining the Charity Investment Consulting Partnership, we are excited to collaborate with other leading consultancies to ensure that charities have access to the independent expertise they need to achieve their financial and philanthropic goals".
Alex Gavriel, Senior Investment Analyst at ARC, commented: "Through collaboration with other investment consulting firms, we are dedicated to improving investment practices and outcomes in the charitable sector. We believe independent consultants are uniquely equipped to guide charities on their investment journey, empowering them to make informed decisions in the pursuit of better investment performance."
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