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CCLA Investment Management
Peter Hugh Smith leads CCLA, the London-based fund of funds that has managed Church of England and charity capital since 1958.
CCLA Investment Management
CCLA was founded in 1958 to serve as a centralized investment manager for Church of England assets, expanding over decades to manage pooled funds for over 35,000 organizations including other UK denominations, foundations, local authorities, and registered charities. The firm operates as a not-for-profit entity, returning efficiencies from scale to its client base rather than to external shareholders. The firm runs a diverse asset allocation spanning public equities, fixed income, property, and private markets, with its venture capital program executed through a fund-of-funds strategy. CCLA commits to venture capital partnerships globally, gaining exposure to early-stage and growth-stage technology companies through carefully selected external GPs. The property portfolio includes direct holdings in UK commercial real estate, and the public equity book runs a responsible investment overlay shaped by the ethical mandates of its charitable client base. The London-based team invests on behalf of what it describes as the public benefit, with pooled funds designed to aggregate the assets of smaller charities that might otherwise lack access to institutional-quality portfolios. Since 2020, CCLA has deepened its commitment to sustainable investment, launching dedicated climate-focused strategies that align with its client base's long-term liabilities and ethical investment exclusions. CCLA's structural differentiator is its non-commercial ownership model: the firm generates no profit for private partners or external investors, instead reinvesting surplus into service improvements and lower fees for the institutions it serves. This client-owned architecture, coupled with the Church of England's historical oversight, creates an unusually long-tenured, mission-aligned investment office that operates at institutional scale on behalf of endowments and foundations normally too small to build such a function independently.
General information
Firm type
Fund of Funds Manager
Year founded
1958
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
United Kingdom
City
London
Corporate office
London, United Kingdom
Principals
Peter Hugh Smith
Chief Executive
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at CCLA?
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.
Who owns CCLA Investment Management?
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.
Is CCLA structured as a single-family office or does it operate more like an institutional asset manager?
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.
Does CCLA participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
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.
What investment stages does CCLA typically target?
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.
Does CCLA maintain an ethical or ESG investment policy?
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.
What is CCLA's known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
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.
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