Church Commissioners for England

Investment Strategy

The Church Commissioners for England manage approximately GBP 10 billion (roughly $12 billion USD) in assets on behalf of the Church of England. The fund’s origins date to 1704, when Queen Anne established Queen Anne’s Bounty to provide supplementary income for the poorest Church of England clergy. In 1948, Queen Anne’s Bounty merged with the Ecclesiastical Commissioners (established in 1836) to form the Church Commissioners in their current structure.

The fund distributes approximately GBP 300 million annually to support clergy pensions, parish ministry, cathedrals, bishops’ costs, and the broader mission of the Church of England. These distributions are critical to the church’s financial sustainability, as they supplement parish-level income and fund the pension obligations for active and retired clergy.

The investment portfolio is diversified across public equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate, timber, and farmland. The Commissioners are one of the largest institutional landowners in England, with an extensive portfolio of rural estates, commercial properties, and residential holdings that have been accumulated over centuries. This real estate portfolio, which includes properties across England, represents a significant and distinctive component of the fund’s overall allocation.

The Church Commissioners apply ethical investment policies developed in consultation with the Church of England’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG). These policies exclude investments in companies involved in tobacco, gambling, high-interest lending, and weapons manufacturing, among other sectors. The Commissioners have been increasingly active in climate-related investment engagement, committing to net-zero portfolio emissions and engaging with portfolio companies on climate transition plans.

Private Markets Approach

The Church Commissioners allocate a substantial portion of their portfolio to private markets, including private equity, real estate, and natural resources such as timber and farmland. The alternatives allocation, estimated at approximately 35% of total assets, reflects the fund’s very long investment time horizon and its ability to tolerate illiquidity.

Real estate is the most distinctive component of the Commissioners’ private markets portfolio. The fund’s property holdings include rural estates across England, commercial property in London and other UK cities, and residential property. The rural estate includes over 100,000 acres of agricultural land and forestry, making the Commissioners one of the largest rural landowners in England. The commercial and residential portfolio includes significant holdings in central London and other major urban centers.

The private equity program includes commitments to buyout, growth equity, and venture capital funds. The Commissioners invest globally across sectors, subject to their ethical investment exclusions. The fund’s scale and long time horizon make it an attractive LP for managers seeking patient, long-term capital.

Timber and farmland investments complement the real estate portfolio, providing exposure to real assets with inflation-hedging characteristics and relatively low correlation to public markets. These investments align naturally with the Commissioners’ extensive rural land holdings.

Fund managers seeking commitments from the Church Commissioners should be familiar with the fund’s ethical investment framework. The EIAG guidelines are publicly available and detailed, covering both exclusionary screens and positive engagement expectations. Managers whose strategies conflict with these ethical guidelines will not be considered regardless of financial merits. The Commissioners publish comprehensive annual reports that include detailed investment performance data, asset allocation information, and descriptions of the fund’s ethical investment activities.