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Chester proposes institute to provide charity investment advice 1

Finance | Gareth Jones | 7 Jul 2011

Roger Chester, who is head of finance and administration at LionHeart and also currently chair of CFDG, is proposing to set up a new foundation that will provide charities with independent investment guidance.

Chester, who emphasised that the plans were not related to his CFDG role, said the idea was inspired after attending the endowment asset management module at Judge Business School, the cost of which was paid for by his employer, LionHeart.

“Many charities that have investment portfolios struggle. There are a number of providers of training courses out there but not many people particularly use them and they’re only one-day things.

“There isn’t really any one place that acts as an independent resource.”

The entity will be modelled on the US-based Commonfund Institute, which was founded by non-profit investment house Commonfund in 2000.

The Commonfund Institute delivers educational and professional development activities, research programmes, publications and communications.

Ongoing funding required

He added that he wasn’t knocking the work of any other organisations, but felt that an independent resource “would be good”.

Chester said the idea would require ongoing funding, and said he would be approaching charitable foundations as well as looking to collaborate with educational institutions.

“There is a dearth of information about investments. The most basic thing is how do you actually account for them? Most people, when they first see an investment portfolio, have never had any experience in posting transactions through.

“But equally it’s a case of where do investments sit in a charity, how they’re monitored, what objectives are set.

“I don’t think I’m trying to teach people stock-picking, it’s the stuff other than that.”

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Directory: Charity Finance Directors' Group (CFDG)
Who's Who: Roger Chester