Church of England Investment Fund Emerges as Top Performer; Way Ahead of Yale and Harvard

The Church of England’s £7.9bn investment fund achieved its strongest returns in more than three decades last year, lifting it into the top ranks of the world’s best-performing endowment funds, reports the Financial Times.

The Church Commissioners annual report has disclosed total return on assets of 17.1 per cent in 2016.

In contrast, returns from the Yale University endowment, top of the eight-member Ivy League, rose only 3.4 per cent in the year to last June.

Amin Rajan, chief executive of the Create Research consultancy, said the Church Commissioners had an enviable record. “Not only have they delivered the target returns, the returns are also in line with what the best-in-class endowments have achieved.”

The Church fund was boosted by strong performances from global equities, private equity and timber.

 -RW