Clergy Support Trust

Investment oversight sits with the Court of Assistants, the Trust's governing body chaired by Senior Treasurer Richard Farmbrough. The Court functions as both charity trustee board and investment committee, a governance model rooted in the Trust's Royal Charter structure. Day-to-day financial management and grant administration is led by Chief Executive Revd Ben Cahill-Nicholls.

The portfolio is structured to produce reliable income for grant-making rather than aggressive capital appreciation. Holdings include direct commercial property — the Trust's Westminster headquarters — and pooled vehicles like the Charities Property Fund, supplemented by cash and short-term deposits. The asset mix reflects a conservative, income-oriented mandate consistent with the Trust's perpetual charitable mission.

The Trust invests primarily through pooled real estate funds and direct property ownership rather than making venture or private equity commitments. Public records and Altss research confirm exposure to the Charities Property Fund, a diversified UK real estate vehicle, alongside the directly held Dean Trench Street commercial asset. No evidence of direct co-investments or fund-of-funds commitments into non-real-estate strategies is available.

The Trust is a member of the Church Investors Group, a network of institutional church investors that collaboratively develops ethical investment policies and engagement practices. While the Trust does not publish a standalone exclusion list, its CIG membership suggests alignment with faith-consistent screening norms, including avoidance of industries inconsistent with Anglican social teaching. Specific exclusions are not publicly detailed.

No. The Trust does not publish a full asset breakdown, AUM figure, or individual holdings beyond the named real estate assets. As a registered charity operating in England and Wales, it files annual accounts with the Charity Commission, but these do not constitute the granular portfolio-level disclosure typical of US foundations or pension funds.

The Sovereign — currently King Charles III — serves as Patron, a role held by every British monarch since Charles II granted the Trust Royal Charter patronage in 1678. The patronage is ceremonial and does not confer investment authority, but it embeds the Trust within the institutional fabric of the Church of England and the Crown. The Archbishop of Canterbury serves as Honorary President in a similarly non-executive capacity.

Both functions operate under the unified governance of the Court of Assistants, with no separate professional investment team disclosed. Grant-making is administered by the Trust's staff, who process applications from clergy, ordinands, curates, and their families for financial support covering health costs, housing needs, and general hardship. The investment portfolio's income flows directly into the charitable spending pool without a formal spending-rule formula publicly documented.