Guidance

Total return investment for permanently endowed charities

Guidance for trustees of permanently endowed charities considering adopting a total return approach to investing the charity's funds.

• From: The Charity Commission
• Published: 1 November 2013
• Last updated: 14 June 2023 — See all updates

Applies to England and Wales

Documents

Total return investment for permanently endowed charities

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This guidance is for charities with permanent endowment. It is about:

• the power to adopt a total return approach to investment, and
• the power to further resolve to make social investments with a negative or uncertain return

Read this guidance to understand:

• what total return investment means for permanently endowed charities
• how to adopt the power to use total return investment or to further make social investments with a negative or uncertain financial return
• trustees’ duties with regard to using the powers
• allocating total return between income and capital
• what happens if the charity already has a total return investment order from the Commission, or an order authorising social investment with a negative or uncertain financial return

See Charity Commission regulations: charities total return

Published 1 November 2013
Last updated 14 June 2023 + show all updates

1. 14 June 2023

   Guidance updated to reflect changes introduced by the Charities Act 2022.

2. 1 November 2013

   First published.