The Wellcome Trust has posted a 15.4 per cent return on its investment portfolio, earning £2.5bn for the year to 30 September 2014.

The trust stared the year with an investment portfolio value of £15.4bn which had risen to £18bn by the end of the year.

It is the third successive year that the trust’s portfolio has delivered a return of more than 10 per cent. Last year the portfolio returned 18 per cent, in 2012 it was 12 per cent.

Sir William Castell, chair of the Trust (pictured), said: “I am once again very pleased to report strong investment performance numbers this year, building upon past investment decisions. This success has enabled us to make charitable payments that are now 45 per cent higher than in the year 2008 before the global financial crisis began.”

Total incoming resources for the year were £338m, with investment income accounting for £309m. The Wellcome Trust also received £16m in grants and £12.9m in other income, which includes retail and gift aided donations.

In 2013/14 grant funding and charitable expenditure was £674m, down from £726m the previous year. The charity predicts that it will be able to spend £4bn on charitable activity over the next five years, compared to £3bn over the past three years.

There are 160 people earning more than £60,000 at the charity. The highest paid individual earned between £620,000 and £630,000.

Asset allocation

The Wellcome Trust holds 49.4 per cent of its assets in public equity, 25.8 per cent in private equity, 11.1 per cent hedge funds, 10.3 per cent in property and 3.6 per cent in cash and bonds, according to the report.

“Our internally managed investments surpassed that of those outsourced to external managers in public equities, private equity and property,” the report said.

The proportion that the trust manages directly is now 42 per cent, up 6 per cent on last year. Four years ago it directly managed 26 per cent of its investments.