Social Finance is to launch a new Investor Advisory Service for charitable trusts and foundations and release a guide to social investment pulling from the Charity Commission's new CC14 investment guidance early next year.

The service is led by John Kingston who spent ten years building the Charities Aid Foundation's social investment fund, CAF Venturesome. Kingston and other Social Finance team members are currently speaking with 20-30 charitable trusts and foundations to identify what they would like to have as investor guidance ahead of the launch of a 9-month pilot, a spokeswoman for the charity advised.

The announcement coincides with the launch of the Commission's new CC14 investment guidance, which clarifies that charities can invest ethically, sustainably, for a financial return or to achieve charitable aims, or for a mix of all or any of these, known as 'mixed motive investment'.

Kingston said: "The identification, screening and execution of social investment (programme-related investment and mixed motive investment) opportunities are poorly supported by the financial investment advisors.

"We are working to test and pilot a specialist advisory service that will make it easier for trusts and foundations to further their social mission by investing their assets."

A revenue model is being developed to enable the service to function independently of Social Finance. The pilot phase is supported by the Esmeé Fairbairn Foundation, Panahpur Trust and others who do not wish to be identified.

Ahead of the launch of the service, Social Finance will be releasing a practical guide to social investment for trusts and foundations pulling together findings from Kingston's research phase and the Charity Commission's investment guidance. It will provide information on how to implement the CC14 guidance, the Social Finance spokeswoman advised.

Social Finance was launched in 2007 as an FSA-regulated not-for-profit with an aim of developing an effective social investment market in the UK.