Charities Aid Foundation launches its investment account
An investment service for charities has gone live, offering access to more than 4,000 funds at the touch of a button.
The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) has launched the CAF Investment Account - the UK’s first and only secure, digital trading platform designed for charities of all sizes.
Registered charities across the UK and organisations recognised by HMRC as having a charitable purpose, can now apply to gain access to access to the biggest selection of charity-specific investment funds available to buy and manage in one place online.
Charities using the CAF Investment Account will be able to research, manage and trade investments in one place for the first time, building on the existing investment services provided by CAF. There is no minimum investment amount.
With interest rates at record lows, it has become more challenging for charities to maximise the return on money donated
It provides access to more than 4,000 funds, including some which are only available to charitable organisations, like Common Investment Funds, (CIFs) and share classes of funds which would not normally be available to small and medium charities.
Funds created under the recently announced Charity Authorised Investment Fund structure can be offered as soon as they are available.
Charities will also be able to invest directly in stocks and bonds listed on the London Stock Exchange and other global markets.
Features of the account include a robust online investment service powered by the award-winning investment platform provider Interactive Investor, and mandatory dual authorisation which will help charities comply with governance requirements and minimise the risk of fraud.
John Low, chief executive of CAF, said: “We are excited to be launching the first secure, digital trading platform designed exclusively for charities.
“With interest rates at record lows, it has become more challenging for charities to maximise the return on money donated by their supporters in order to make a bigger difference.
“CAF has a long history of helping charities tackle their financial challenges and we believe there’s a huge amount of untapped potential for charities to make more use of investments to help support their work.
“Whatever the size of a charity, and however much they have to invest, the CAF Investment Account has been designed to make investing money easy, time-efficient and cost-effective. Charities signing up will have access to the most comprehensive range of charity-specific funds anywhere online.”
