'Endowment income impacts every aspect of College life'
Jesus College has invested with the Cambridge University Endowment Fund (CUEF) since 2017, and currently invests over 40% of its total financial investment assets in the fund. In an interview published in CUEF's 2023 Annual Report, College Bursar Dr Richard Anthony explains how this income is crucial to College provision.
The Cambridge University Endowment Fund invests donations made to the University, its Colleges and associated charitable trusts; and makes distributions to support the University. Over the past decade over £1 billion has been distributed, supporting over 800 research, teaching and other activities across the University, such as the provision of scholarships and bursaries.
Total distributions from the College’s Endowment represent 30-35% of its total annual income. Jesus College relies on endowment income, and it makes a real difference to every aspect of College life. It allows us to invest in our historic estate, including repairing the roof of our Grade 1-listed Chapel, extending the gym, and creating a multifaith room and an art room. It enables progress in sustainability through recycling stations, covered bike parking and increasing the biodiversity of our grounds and our land holdings. It also means we can deliver an exceptional student experience, with small group teaching and strong pedagogical care, thanks to our academics, tutorial staff and growing mental health team.
Approximately 400 students every year receive assistance from the College, mostly in the form of support grants for people who are struggling financially. Available at all stages of study, these grants are particularly useful for PhD candidates who can find themselves running out of funding towards the end of their three years here. We also recently increased the provision of grants in response to higher living costs.
The Cambridge Bursary Scheme currently supports around 25% of all UK first-degree undergraduates and is jointly funded by the University and the Colleges, thanks to generous endowed donations. The scheme was designed to widen access for students from low-income backgrounds, and Jesus College recently extended the earnings threshold to include students from middle-income backgrounds. We have also increased bursaries for our clinical medicine and veterinary students, whose courses requires them to live in Cambridge for 11 to 12 months a year, much longer than other students. This academic year we awarded a total of 146 bursaries, a number that is predicted to rise every year in the future.
Our endowment provides a steady income and gives us financial confidence. This proved essential during the pandemic, when income from conferences, catering and student rents disappeared overnight.
We invest in the CUEF because of UCIM’s strong team, its impressive performance record, and because our values are aligned. The largest part of our financial portfolio is fossil-free, and we share the CUEF’s ambition to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions from the portfolio by 2038. The size of the CUEF gives us access to new investment opportunities, and we benefit from paying operating costs rather than fees. It has good governance and a robust investment selection process; it’s reassuring to know that every investment is made with due diligence and care.
This interview is based on an article originally published by CUEF's 2023 Annual Report. It is reproduced under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
