Charity partners announce winner of the Endowments Investing Challenge

Six UK charitable foundation investors today announced Triodos Investment Management as the winner of the live vote at the Endowments Investing Challenge, a pioneering initiative seeking a bold investment portfolio to generate positive impact for future generations.

The Challenge invited investment service providers to propose innovative investment approaches for a mandate of up to £50 million. 60 applications were received, and five were shortlisted. At an event yesterday, the shortlisted organisations presented their portfolios, sparking challenging questions and rigorous scrutiny from the audience of charities, mission-led investors, and young people.

James Anthony, Social Investment Portfolio Manager, at Friends Provident Foundation, said: “By applying a child-lens investing framework, Triodos truly prioritises positive impact on future generations alongside financial returns.”

Hadewych Kuiper, Managing Director Investments, Triodos Investment Management said: “Winning the Endowments Investing Challenge for our Future Generations strategy is an incredibly proud moment for all of us at Triodos Investment Management. This award reaffirms our commitment to putting the well-being of future generations at the core of every investment decision. A heartfelt thank you to the organisers and to everyone who supported us with their vote. Together, we’re proving that finance can—and must—be a force for long-term, positive change for generations to come."

A pivotal point for participatory investment

For the first time, a Future Generations Panel of seven young adults from across the UK played a central role in the whole process. After deliberating on the five presentations, the panel made a recommendation to the audience – to vote for Triodos.

“It was powerful to see the Future Generations Panel recommendation supported in the People's Choice vote,” James Anthony added. “It was a moment of real influence for young people over investment decisions that will shape their future.”

“We established baseline criteria when we began this work that reflect our views of the world and the future,” said Izzy from the Future Generations Panel. “We want an investment service provider that doesn't contribute harm. But more than that, we wanted an approach that positively contributes to future generations.

“Triodos were transparent and showed clarity in their strategies. They handled challenging questions well, giving us further confidence in the team.”

“To create real change in the investment sector, we need to bring more voices to the table,” said Andrew Gnaneswaran, Chief Investment Officer at the Vivensa Foundation. “The Endowments Investing Challenge brought together a range of different charities, partners, and investors with a panel of remarkable young people.

“Together we’ve shown the power of collective action, transparency, and participation. This process can be replicated by other charitable investors on different scales to support them to use their capital to address the issues that society faces rather than exacerbating the problems.”

Collaborating on a bold vision

The partner foundations (The Blagrave Trust, The Children’s Society, Cripplegate Foundation, Friends Provident Foundation, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and the Vivensa Foundation) and supporting organisations (John Ellerman Foundation, the Robertson Trust, the Impact Investing Institute, Gallagher and ShareAction) hope to see a market shift because of their collaboration.

Jaspal Sian, Investment Portfolio Manager at Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “By working with others, we’re building a bigger ecosystem of people who see wealth as a tool for tackling the world's biggest challenges; people who are willing to back new economic models that share risk and value more fairly.

“We can't shift the investment industry by ourselves, but together, through things like the Endowments Investing Challenge, we have the scale and the courage to try.”

Next steps

With a combined investment mandate of up to £50 million available, Gallagher will now complete further due diligence on Triodos Investment Management. The partners’ trustees and investment committees will then make their final investment decisions.