Big rise in the value of Trustâ€™s investments

June 16th 2017

The value of Shetland Charitable Trustâ€™s investment funds increased by Â£40 million in the last financial year, a return of almost 20 per cent.

Big rise in the value of Trust’s investments

The value of Shetland Charitable Trust’s investment funds increased by £40 million in the last financial year, a return of almost 20 per cent.

However, concern about the volatility of financial markets remains high – while returns were good this year they were only 0.1 per cent in 2015-16 – with fund managers predicting only moderate growth in the years ahead.

A marked improvement in equities markets around the world lay behind the most recent rise, driven in the UK by the weakness of the pound.

When withdrawals to support the arts, heritage, leisure and social care in Shetland are taken into account, the value of the Trust’s investments at the end of March this year stood at £232 million.

The Trust disbursed £8.37 million for the benefit of people of all ages in all parts of Shetland during the year.

“Despite all the political upheavals in the world, the markets have performed well over the past year and the Trust’s investments have made very healthy returns,” said SCT Chairman Bobby Hunter.

“But as we know from experience, the markets can fall and that can mean the numbers don’t look so good.

“It’s important to look at the long-term performance of the investments when we are assessing our financial strategy.”

Last year the Trust adopted a new investment strategy, designed to increase returns, which resulted in Baillie Gifford being handed the mandate to manage half of its equities in an active equity fund.

BlackRock, Schroders and Insight manage the remaining reserves in equity, property and diversified growth funds.

The new approach, devised with the support of financial consultancy Mercer, is part of an overall financial strategy which will help the Trust achieve its goal of financial sustainability by 2020.

Ends

For further information, please contact Paul Riddell of Platform Shetland on 07739 750543, 01595 697296 or paul.riddell@platformshetland.co.uk

Notes to editors

Shetland Charitable Trust is one of the largest such trusts in Scotland. The value of its investments is currently around £260m, with £232m invested in the world’s markets and £23m in the local economy. The remainder is net current assets.

Funded originally by Shetland Islands Council’s “disturbance payments” from the oil industry between 1976 and 2000, the Trust now relies entirely on its investment income.

The trust formerly comprised all councillors plus two independents. This changed in 2012 and again in 2017 and it is now a completely separate organisation from the council, with a built-in majority of independent trustees.

Shetland Charitable Trust owns three companies: Shetland Leasing and Property Developments Ltd (SLAP); Shetland Heat Energy and Power Ltd (SHEAP); and SCT Renewables Ltd.

Registered Charity No. SC 027025

Testimonials

The funding COPE Ltd receives from the Shetland Charitable Trust supports us in many ways. It allows us to develop and maintain a strong foundation to our core business and assists us to provide on-going employment skill development opportunities to people with disabilities living within Shetland. COPE Ltd highly values the support provided to our organisation by The Shetland Charitable Trust.

“The substantial grant made to us by Shetland Charitable Trust every year allows us to provide first-class facilities and dedicated staff to underpin sporting success among people of all ages and abilities in the islands.”

Having this core funding from the Charitable Trust means that we can use that money where we need it at any given time. It's multi-year funding which really takes the pressure off. To have the funding to keep going is really important as it is improving the lives of disabled folk in Shetland.

The funding that we get from the Charitable Trust pays for part of staff support and matching with other funders. Without local funders we wouldn't have national funders, and without either of those funders, we wouldn't be able to do this, so funding from the Shetland Charitable Trust is incredibly important.

The funding Shetland Arts gets from Shetland Charitable Trust is about making sure the organisation can thrive, access other funds, and deliver on behalf of the community of Shetland. Our funding from the Shetland Charitable Trust really helps us with our conversations with national funders because it shows that we're working on behalf of what the local objectives and priorities are.

The Access to Leisure scheme was introduced to allow folk to be able to get access to classes and activities for a lower cost. I feel that the SRT play a critical role in every community across Shetland and that's all down to the funding of the Shetland Charitable Trust that we're able to maintain that.

Unpaid carers do an amazing job looking after people 24/7 in their own homes, keeping them living at home safely, and they really need help to do that. Thanks to the funding from Shetland Charitable Trust, we've been able to employ a deputy manager, recruit more care attendants, and provide overnights. We're also really grateful for the funding because it means that everybody can get the service for free.