It has become a regulatory obligation for Charities to document their Investment Strategy by way of an Investment Policy Statement (IPS). This is a comprehensive document that all Trustees / Executive Members of a Charity should be on board with. We believe that it is more prudent and appropriate for a Charity to carry out this IPS exercise with the oversight and advice of Compass Charities rather than directly with an Investment Institution.

View our 2-Pager on Investment Policy Statements for Charities

Charities are becoming more and more conscious of investing from an Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) point of view. This gives Charities comfort that their assets are not only avoiding companies that do not meet their ethical guidelines (negative screening) but also that their assets are investing in companies that have a good impact on our Planet and our Society generally (positive screening)

In a low interest rate environment, the levels of fees & charges in Investment Portfolios can be excessive. Charities with larger investment amounts can benefit greatly from a forensic review of the total fees & charges imposed on their Portfolios & a subsequent re-negotiation or change of provider to reduce costs.

We are highly knowledgeable and experienced at identifying unnecessary and excessive charges, which is mainly from clients have too many ‘layers’ of fees or not receiving the service commensurate with their fee level.

In our view, Charities should never consider any one Investment account in isolation. Rather, all assets should be consider holistically to ensure that the various investment strategies complement each other from a diversification and risk minimisation point of view.

We do not believe that the entirety of a Charity’s Assets should be invested with any one Institution in order to minimise risk.