Bishop poised to lead Church of England is F&C ethical funds committee Chair

The bishop tipped to become the next leader of the Church of England is also the Chair of the panel that oversees the criteria for the ethical funds at F&C, the UK fund manager, and has a major interest in sustainable finance. UK newspapers report that Justin Welby, bishop of Durham, will be unveiled as the next Archbishop of Canterbury within days, succeeding incumbent Rowan Williams. Welby has been Chair of F&C’s ethical Committee of Reference since 1st January 2011 and a member of the Committee and the Investment Sub Committee since 2006.
The Committee, comprised of experts drawn from a diverse range of fields, meets quarterly to review and update the criteria for all F&C’s ethical investments, drawing on research from the fund manager’s GSI Team and independent external advice.
Welby became the Bishop of Durham, the fourth most senior cleric in the Church of England in 2011 and was previously the Dean of Liverpool Cathedral. In addition, he is the Personal and Ethical Adviser to the UK Association of Corporate Treasurers, and writes and lectures extensively on ethics and finance. Welby started his career at French oil company Elf Aquitaine before joining Enterprise Oil. He joined the clergy in the 1990s.The Church of England itself runs three staff pension schemes, believed to represent approximately £1bn in assets collectively.
They are the main £785m Funded Pension Scheme (CEFPS) for clergy; the Church Worker’s Pension Fund (CWPF), which provides pensions for the employees of over 200 organisations associated with the Church of England; and the Church Administrators Pension Fund (CAPF) for staff employed by the National Church Institutions. All three are signatories to the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment under the umbrella appellation: The Church of England National Investing Bodies. The Church’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG) supports the national investing bodies on ethical investment, advising the Church Commissioners, the Church of England Pensions Board and the multi billion pound CBF Church of England deposit funds, which are managed by CCLA, the charity fund manager, itself a PRI signatory.
The UK’s Guardian newspaper ran an interview with Welby earlier this year around his views on ethical finance: Link