The Joffe Charitable Trust, London; Blagrave Trust, London; and Friends Provident Foundation, York; England, plan to jointly hire asset managers to manage a £32 million ($41.7 million) global multiasset mandate with an ESG focus, according to the website of Friends Provident Foundation.
The three charities are looking for managers to deliver "intentional social and environmental impact, high standards of ESG integration covering exclusion, engagement and its escalation, voting record and in-house expertise plus impact reporting."
Friends Provident Foundation and Joffe Trust are each contributing £10 million to the mandate, while Blagrave Trust will invest £12 million. Other funds are invited join the pool, which will have a U.K. focus.
Additional requirements include liquidity and cash generation. Joffe Trust will require access to circa £1 million a year for grants and operations, while Blagrave Trust will require some cash generation for grants. Friends Provident Foundation has no such requirement.
"The quality of (ESG) funds varies greatly with marketing claims not always aligned with investment practice. We wish to send a market signal that asset owners are demanding higher standards of impact and ESG investment," said Colin Baines, investment manager at Friends Provident Foundation, in a joint news release. "Asset managers will recognize that the standards expected by mission-led investors like ourselves today often become the market norms of tomorrow."
Proposals are due on Feb. 7 via email. Application requirements are specified on the Friends Provident Foundation website (registration required).
Four or five asset managers will be selected by the end of February. Short-listed asset managers will be invited to present proposals in early March.
