Broadstone has launched an investment consultancy services for small charities.

The offering is designed for small charities that require independent expert advice on their investments, especially following the recent changes to the Charity Commission’s CC14 guidance. These changes urge trustees to seek independent advice from experts, if such expertise is not currently represented on their board, and to view their investible assets as opportunities to align with their social impact objectives. Smaller charities will be able to subscribe to Broadstone’s service to access a membership of similar organisations, as well as tailored services such as investment training.

Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pool Border to Coast Pensions Partnership has launched two new real estate funds on behalf of its partner funds.

The two funds, ‘Global Core’ and ‘Global Value-add’ look to provide partner funds with access to real estate investment with the benefits of pooling. Partner funds have committed £870m so far, with further commitments anticipated to bring the total to more than £1bn. The Global Core Fund (£500m) provides exposure to real estate investments seeking a mainly income-driven return profile, while the Global Value-Add fund (£370m) seeks a mainly capital appreciation return.

Octopus Investments has announced the first close of its Affordable Housing fund, which was set up to accelerate the UK’s delivery of affordable homes.

The first close of £50m was achieved with capital from London CIV, the investment pool for 32 of London’s LGPS funds. The initial capital will enable more than 500 affordable family and older persons homes to be built in areas across the UK and is the first step towards the fund’s overall target of funding the delivery of 5,000 homes over the next few years. The fund aims to provide co-investment opportunities for local authorities, LGPS funds and other locally interested investors.

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