The Church of England is officially one of the best investment funds in the world, generating what its own commissioners called a "stellar" return in 2016.
On a ten and 20-year basis, it has earned an average annual return of 8.3 and 9.5 per cent respectively, says the Financial Times, ranking it ahead of the top-rated US Ivy League university endowment fund run by Yale University, which produced an annual return of 3.4 per cent last year and has averaged 8.1 per cent for the past decade.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, over 20 years, Yale is still well ahead, with an annual average return of 12.6 per cent.
"Armed with a long-term mandate and an in-house team of 35 investment professionals, the Church Commissioners [who run the fund] are... known for taking positions counter to industry trends", says the FT.
In one particular respect, they are going against the grain at the moment: retaining a core belief in the power of active management to drive outperformance, rather than cheaper index tracking.
However, criticism has been aimed at the Church's ethical investment policies, which in theory stop it taking stakes in companies that derive above a set percentage of earnings from pornography, arms sales, tobacco, alcohol or high-interest lending.
In 2012 the fund was criticised for upping investments in hedge funds at a time of anger over "corporate excess", while in 2013, it was revealed that the Church had invested in payday lender Wonga, in direct contravention of its policies. It has since left the lender.
Returns last year were driven in large part by UK equities, which benefitted from the post-Brexit vote slump in the pound, says the BBC.
Church Commissioners chief executive Andrew Brown said the fund contributed £230.7m to the Church of England last year, around 15 per cent of its total income.
-
Strava vs. Garmin: the row splitting the running communityUnder The Radar The legal dispute between the two titans of exercise tech is like ‘Mom and Dad fighting’
-
Bad Bunny: Why MAGA is incensedFeature The NFL announced Latino artist Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl halftime headliner, sparking MAGA outrage
-
Supreme Court: Judging 20 years of RobertsFeature Two decades after promising to “call balls and strikes,” Chief Justice John Roberts faces scrutiny for reshaping American democracy
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
