Ethical Investing

The Board has an Ethical Investing Policy, adopted on 19th May 2004. This Policy applies only to those Funds and Trusts for which the Board has a managing trustee responsibility – commonly called the ‘full’ or ‘discretionary’ Trusts (The Policy is set out below).

Where the Board exercises a custodian trustee role only, the Ethical Investing Policy is in the hands of the appropriate managing trustees and the Board as custodian has no power to do other than accept the lawfully made instructions of the managing trustees. The effect of this is that, although we may encourage managing trustees to consider the ethics of their investments, you may see the name of TMCP published by monitoring groups such as The Campaign Against the Arms Trade purely because of the custodian role of the Board.

The Policy

A1. The Policy of the Board is to invest its funds in portfolios managed in accordance with the principles in the Reports of the Joint Advisory Committee on the Ethics of Investment adopted by the Methodist Conference.
A2. Securities held within these portfolios will be reviewed for acceptability under the following headings:
- alcohol and tobacco;
- armament;
- corporate governance and business ethics;
- environment;
- fair trade and debt relief;
- gambling;
- human rights;
- media ethics (including pornography);
- medical and food safety issues.
B. When property is given, devised, bequeathed or otherwise lawfully transferred to the Board under Section 10 of the Methodist Church Act 1939 to hold as trustees (i.e. to have management responsibility) and not solely as custodian trustees and the property is stocks, shares or funds to which the Policy in A1 and A2 is applicable, the Board shall seek advice as to whether the stock etc., is acceptable under the Policy and if not shall dispose of any not acceptable.

Notes to the Policy

The Board judges that by investing in CFB portfolios it is able to comply with this policy and if the Board decides to retain or acquire investments other than CFB media the conditions of the Policy in A1 and A2 will apply to those investments.

The Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church (CFB) was formed to provide for the wider investment of funds of the Methodist Church and the Methodist Conference established the ‘Joint Advisory Committee on the Ethics of Investment’ to advise the CFB on ethical matters relating to investment.

An annual report is made to the Methodist Conference on the activities of the Joint Advisory Committee. This report is reviewed by the Board to confirm that by investing through CFB funds, it is meeting its Ethical Investing Policy. A copy of the Report may be obtained from CFB, 9 Bonhill Street, London EC2A 4PE, Telephone Switchboard: 020 7496 3600.

The report is also available for download on this website: see Ethical Investment.

Investing your Methodist money ethically and successfully

TMCP works through the agency of the Central Finance Board (CFB) of the Methodist Church. CFB was established by The Methodist Church Funds Act, 1960, to provide pooled investment vehicles for the exclusive use of Methodist organisations. We have a close working relationship and we value the support and service which they give.

Bill Seddon, Chief Executive, Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church, says:

“Our funds allow Methodist trustee bodies the flexibility to make appropriate asset allocation decisions. The largest of our funds is the £420 million Deposit Fund which has around 8,000 accounts and through which the TMCP Trustee Investment Fund is invested. These funds are designed to pay above average interest rates coupled with administrative simplicity. However, interest rates move up and down and if a church or trust needs more certainty over the level of investment income perhaps one of our fixed interest funds would be more appropriate for some of their assets. Alternatively, if the income is being used to pay a salary (for example), it may be more important for the income to grow than to maximise the initial sum. This might indicate that an equity investment would be suitable. Similarly, if it is important to maintain the purchasing power of the asset, our equity, property or index-linked funds could be considered. Local trustees know their own local circumstances best, but if additional help is needed to make assets work harder, they can contact us through our Client Relationship Manager, Bill Lane (email: bill.lane@cfbmethodistchurch.org.uk Tel: 020 7496 3600).

To help us live up to our pledge that, to the best of our ability, the securities held in our portfolios are in line with the ethical policy of the Methodist Church, the Methodist Conference established the Joint Advisory Committee on the Ethics of Investment (JACEI). The role of JACEI is to advise the CFB on ethical matters relating to investment. The work of JACEI would not be possible without close co-operation between the CFB team and our colleagues from the Joint Public Issues Team. They help us to be aware of and understand the issues that are of most concern to the Methodist Church and assist us in adopting an appropriate response. JACEI has eleven members, five each appointed by the Methodist Council and the CFB plus an independent chair also appointed by the Methodist Council.

If you have any concerns about issues relating to ethics and investment, we would encourage you to contact the Chair, John Howard (email: jaceichair@methodistchurch.org.uk) or the CFB direct.”

For more information about the CFB’s investment products, performance and ethical policies, please see their website www.cfbmethodistchurch.org.uk.

Please note TMCP are not legally allowed to give investment advice.