The Church Commissioners achieved a return of 9.4 per cent on their investments in 2007. This far exceeded the return of 7.0 per cent from the fund’s comparator group for that year, the WM All Funds Universe.
WM All Funds Universe is a collection of the investment results of UK pension funds and is widely used as an independent measure of the performance of funds.
Over the past 10 years, the Commissioners’ total return on their investments has averaged 9.5 per cent per year – placing them in the top two per cent of funds in the WM All Funds Universe for the decade.
As a result of this 10-year performance, the Commissioners’ asset value has grown to £5.67 billion, and the fund has been able to distribute £37 million more each year to the Church than if the investments had performed only at the industry average of 7.1 per cent per year over the last ten years.
Over the last five years, the Commissioners have outperformed the comparator group, achieving returns of 14.5 per cent per year, against the benchmark of 13.1 per cent.
Andrew Brown, Secretary to the Church Commissioners, explained: “Strong performance from our property portfolio was the major contributor to our success in 2007. But during the year and over the longer term, the spread of asset types within the fund and the strength of the Commissioners’ stock selection have both contributed to these robust results.
“We were particularly pleased by the performance of our commercial, rural let land and strategic land sectors last year, but our quoted equities portfolios underperformed their benchmarks, in part due to the continuing strength of stocks excluded on ethical grounds.
“At a time of tighter finances across the economy, these returns will help the Church of England continue to fulfill its mission to serve all the people of this country.
“We manage our investments for the long term and, while we cannot be immune from the current uncertainties in the world economy, we have a diverse portfolio and are well positioned to weather difficult financial conditions.”
The Church Commissioners manage the historic resources of the Church of England and contribute around 17 per cent of the cost of running the Church – the vast majority of the costs are met by the generosity of local parishioners.
The Commissioners’ activities in 2007 included providing £32.9 million towards parish-level ministry and mission projects around the country. This compares with £32.4 million last year.
