CCLA Investment Management

Peter Hugh Smith serves as Chief Executive of CCLA Investment Management, a role he has held since 2015. The firm operates a centralized investment team headquartered in London, managing pooled multi-asset funds under the oversight of a board that includes representatives from its core client constituencies — the Church of England, other UK denominations, and the wider charity sector.

CCLA is jointly owned by its three founding client groups: the Church of England, the Church of Scotland, and the Church Commissioners for England. It operates as a not-for-profit manager, reinvesting any surplus into lower fees and service improvements for its client base rather than distributing profits to shareholders.

CCLA operates as a regulated fund manager, not a family office. It manages pooled charitable funds on behalf of over 35,000 organizations that are collectively its shareholders, creating a mutual-like structure that distinguishes it from both commercial asset managers and private family offices.

CCLA primarily invests through pooled external funds rather than making direct company investments. In venture capital, it acts as a fund of funds manager, committing to external venture partnerships globally to build diversified exposure across stages and geographies.

Through its venture capital fund-of-funds program, CCLA gains exposure to both early-stage and growth-stage companies by backing external general partners. The firm does not run a direct venture investment practice, relying instead on the stage expertise of the underlying managers it selects.

Yes, CCLA integrates ethical exclusions and responsible investment principles across its portfolios, reflecting the values of its predominantly charity and faith-based client base. The firm avoids investments in sectors such as tobacco, armaments, and fossil fuels in certain strategies, and launched a dedicated Better World Global Equity Fund in 2023 with formal sustainability objectives.

CCLA does not publicly emphasize direct co-investment as a core strategy. Its private markets exposure is primarily achieved through fund commitments rather than alongside-the-GP co-investment structures, driven by the pooled nature of its client mandates and the administrative complexity of offering direct deal access to thousands of underlying charities.