At a time of unprecedented interest in ESG investing, a number of investors are taking their commitment to effecting positive change a step further.
Below, ESG Clarity highlights how several asset managers are championing charitable giving through impactful philanthropic endeavours.
Tom Weller, innovation analyst at Evenlode Investment
There is a growing understanding of the importance of empowering communities through charitable giving and impact investment. As such, in 2021, we established the Evenlode Foundation, a philanthropic arm that seeks to effect positive change and improve outcomes for individuals, communities, and the environment. Wholly funded by Evenlode group profits, the foundation engages with charities and companies that work towards addressing global challenges within areas such as climate change, nature, poverty, inequality, science, education, and sustainability.
The foundation operates on three pillars: impact investing, charitable giving, and community support. Evenlode Impact is a portfolio of early-stage and not-for-profit organisations emerging from science and education to solve the complex problems of sustainability. In the realm of charitable giving, the foundation supports partnerships with charities that make a tangible impact on communities in the short term, with a view to driving positive systemic change over the long term.
Included in the diverse range of charities we support are Blue Ventures, which rebuilds tropical fisheries with coastal communities, Camfed, which empowers young women to become leaders of change, and Spark MicroGrants, which enables communities to design and launch their own social impact projects.
Regarding its community support, the foundation also works closely with local charities, educational institutions, clubs, and societies close to our Oxfordshire base – including The Oxford Trust, Chipping Norton School, and The University of Oxford – forging long-term partnerships in our much-loved local community.
Richard Maitland, head of charities at Sarasin & Partners
Over the past 20 years, Sarasin & Partners has managed portfolios for more than 450 educational, medical, religious and grant-making charities.
One charity we have supported for the past two years is Place2Be, which provides school-based support and in-depth training programmes to improve the emotional wellbeing of pupils, families, teachers and school staff. The charity provides an embedded mental health service in more than 400 UK primary and secondary schools, supporting a community of about 225,000 children and young people.
With clinical research indicating 50% of people with a lifetime mental health issue first develop symptoms before the age of 14, the work Place2Be does is critical. To raise awareness of the need to invest in children’s mental health, as well as the importance of sustainability and securing a future for the planet and the next generation, we collaborated with Place2Be and horticulturist Jamie Butterworth to develop a sanctuary garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, called the Place2Be Securing Tomorrow Garden.
The garden was developed with input from staff and pupils at Viking Primary School in Northolt, West London, which has worked in partnership with Place2Be for 12 years. After the Chelsea Flower Show, with support from Sarasin & Partners, the garden is being relocated to the Viking Primary School grounds to provide a lasting space for its pupils to enjoy well into the future – a living and breathing illustration of our commitment to securing tomorrow.
James Penny, chief investment officer at TAM Asset Management
Our You Give We Give initiative provides our GIA and ISA investors with the opportunity to donate up to 20% of their annual portfolio gain to a charity entirely of their choice. TAM then matches that donation with an equal percentage from our annual fee.
So far, we have donated almost £200,000 to a wide variety of causes – from smaller local charities to larger international organisations. Our clients have shown a growing appetite to contribute meaningfully towards a better society, and this simple and effective initiative provides them with a material solution. We are delighted with the positive impact You Give We Give has had to date, and we look forward to helping more and more charities for years to come.
We also run several You Give We Give charitable partnerships, working closely with the charities to support their campaigns and raise awareness for their causes. Our team are keen fundraisers and take part in various events, most recently included our #TAMPedalforPeace cycle challenge on 28 July.
A team of 24 riders from across the industry tackled a 270km ride from London to Paris to raise funds to help those suffering from the effects of war within the British armed services via Waterloo Uncovered, and to provide lifesaving aid to Ukrainian refugees through United Kingdom for UNHCR. You can sponsor the team here.
James Lloyd, head of business development and marketing at Mayfair Capital
All Mayfair Capital staff are given two charity volunteering days per year to allocate to a charity of their choice. Our UK charity committee is a staff-led governance body that coordinates charitable giving by Mayfair Capital and its staff. The charity committee is comprised of five UK staff who meet quarterly and drive staff engagement through volunteering days, matched raising, and the organisation of charitable events, actively encouraging personal stewardship objectives for all Mayfair Capital staff. Mayfair Capital staff supported 14 different charitable causes in 2021, spending about 100 hours dedicated to these charities.
Members of the Mayfair Capital team recently spent the day volunteering with Trees for Cities. The charity works closely with local communities to create lasting change within neighbourhoods by revitalising forgotten spaces, creating healthier environments, and getting people excited about growing, foraging, and eating healthy food. To date, the charity has planted more than one million trees.
The Mayfair Capital volunteers spent the day with the Trees for Cities team in Crystal Palace, helping to prepare and maintain an area of the park where trees had recently been planted. Tasks included watering the trees, weeding the surrounding areas, and preparing the grounds to ensure the trees are kept hydrated over the next few months.
Mayfair Capital’s flagship fund, which has a portfolio of £833m under management, is invested on behalf of more than 1,200 UK charities. Mayfair Capital also has an annual PITCH Charity Award, designed to support good causes linked to the fund, which this year was donated to the Ukraine Emergency Appeal run by All We Can, providing aid to refugees affected by the war.
Steve Windsor, co-founder of Atrato Group
We aspire to be seen as the Ben and Jerry’s of the financial world: a progressive asset manager with a social conscience. We have committed to give a percentage of our profits to charitable causes across Atrato Group; the overall group pledges to give at least 3%, Atrato Onsite Energy plc (ROOF) pledges 1%, and we are aiming for each of our funds to give at least 1% of their profits to charity.
Atrato Group’s charity partners include IntoUniversity and The Brain Tumour Charity. We are swimming a relay across Lake Geneva – a total of 73km – for The Brain Tumour Charity next month, and hope to raise in excess of £6,000. At the investment trust level, we have historically given to sector-specific charities relevant to the areas in which we invest. For example, FareShare and The Trussell Trust both help fight the food poverty crisis across the UK, and Atrato Capital, investment adviser to Supermarket Income REIT, has supported them since its launch five years ago.
We are also encouraging our senior leaders to sign up as STEM Ambassadors for STEM Learning. Its programme aims to encourage young people to progress to higher levels in STEM – which refers to science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects – at both school and career levels.
This year, we hope to launch the Atrato Foundation, which will be dedicated to pursuing our charitable ambitions. What charities need are long-term partnerships, rather than one off financial gifts, so they have some security over their future income. Therefore, when we partner with charities, we commit to three-to-five-year partnerships.
