Following a rigorous selection process the decision has been taken to appoint Kames Capital as the new fund manager for the University’s endowment investments with funds being invested in the Kames Ethical Cautious Managed Fund.
The selection process was particularly focused around finding an investment vehicle that would complement the University’s ethical considerations (with specific focus on direct investment in tobacco) whilst still providing the necessary income and capital growth. The Kames Ethical Cautious Managed Fund was felt to be a good fit as it screens out companies on a range of ethical criteria whilst still maintaining growth and returns that are comparable with other funds in the sector.
Details of the screening can be found here. For example, the fund does not invest in companies which
- are involved in activities which are commonly held to be environmentally unsound – specifically manufacturers of PVC, ozone depleting chemicals and hazardous pesticides
- are in breach of internationally recognised conventions on biodiversity and companies in energy intensive industries which are not tackling the issue of climate change
- derive more than 10% of their business from the growing, processing or sale of tobacco products
The investment was previously held in the Lazards Charity Fund which unfortunately closed last year due to the disinvestment of 2 major investors in the fund.
It is hoped that the greater overall size of the Kames fund and the broader range of investors holding a smaller proportion of the total will provide greater stability for the University’s investment.