Charitable investments can put a non-profit organisation’s money to work and provide them with the necessary funds to keep operating, even if donations are reduced.
Kerry Holmes, Director and Independent Financial Planner, recently worked with a non-profit organisation who initially only needed our help to set up an Investment Policy Statement. Like with many clients, this initial requirement became much more complex and required additional support.
The case
To begin the process, Kerry spoke with the board of trustees to determine the overall financial objectives of the charity. With this information, she was able to help the trustees build their Investment Policy Statement and provide education and technical feedback as required to enable the trustees to make important decisions concerning:
- investment timescales;
- tolerance for loss;
- required returns;
- benchmarking; and
- ethical considerations.
This was amongst other areas, such as access needs and requirements for income.
Kerry then helped set appropriate benchmarks for performance, risk, and time so that our client had a strategy to always keep them on track, no matter how the markets fared. Through cashflow analysis, Kerry was able to prepare the trustees for the most likely outcomes of their investment journey and how they could make the best use out of each scenario.
The Investment Policy Statement forms the basis for decision making around all investments (including cash) that a charity holds, so it is essential that it is up to date and reviewed regularly.
Our client was thrilled with the results and wanted Lucas Fettes Financial Planning to carry out all subsequent work related to their investment portfolio. This included a full review and recommendation on their existing assets and recommendations for their surplus.
After completing a full financial review of the charity, Kerry gave the client detailed summaries of suitable investment management firms that should be considered as part of a ‘beauty parade’ to the trustees. She then provided support and expertise as each firm submitted their proposals to the board of trustees. Following her advice, our client moved their existing portfolio and invested new money with the recommended investment management firm.
The move brought the charity’s investment fees down significantly. Furthermore, the Investment Policy Statement ensures that the trustees have a clear document to aide in decision making going forward.
Kerry will continue to review the portfolio on a regular basis to make sure that it remains suitable for their objectives; providing detailed reviews and recommendations to the board of trustees.
