Why charities need to engage
At Yoke, we like to cycle to meetings. It keeps us fit and cuts our carbon footprint. While some say cycling in London or any city is dangerous, we manage the risks and take appropriate time between meetings, keeping within the law. The biggest risk on the road tends to be other cyclists or pedestrians, who do not appear to be aware of the rules of the road.
We notice that it common for pedestrians at crossings wait for a bike to pass, when it is the person on foot’s right of way. This is because many cyclists think they are in charge and ignore the Highway Code by crossing red lights and zebra crossings, so pedestrians are naturally confused and avoidable accidents can occur.
An excellent recently published report entitled Time and Money highlights that charities who rely on investments to support their long-term mission can take advantage of their ability to make and spend more money and encourage good corporate behaviour. However, short-term thinking can get in the way.
Trustees can unwittingly be blown off-course and when investing for the long-term. It is important that Trustees should be committed and ambitious, not complacent, continually attending to the proper management of their assets but never losing sight of the main charitable goal.
Why do we link the poor pedestrian to a report about investment management for charities? In many cases an investment manager attends the charity meeting and for usually 30 minutes, they entertain client with stories from the market. Rarely does the charity engage. Like the pedestrian at the crossing who is used to the cyclist ruling the road, charities tend not to challenge.
Charities must engage, not be entertained, when it comes to investment. They must understand the risks and investment objectives. While the manager can advise, it is the charity that is in control and they must have the confidence to remind themselves of what they want from these assets, assess whether or not they are getting what they want, and if not, decide what action to take.
Investment managers should also encourage their clients to be engaged by basing their presentation of how well they are fulfilling the mandate they have been given against the benchmark the charity has set. Fabulous tales of the far east and what’s going on in the Silicon Valley is simply entertainment and adds very little to the Trustees’ understanding of whether they are achieving their long term goals.
Like the pedestrian, trustees need to enforce their right and be in control of where they are going to avoid unnecessary accidents.