Insights

The North West Air Ambulance Charity is a much-loved organisation that saves thousands of lives every year without any statutory funding. When its investments failed to perform in line with expectations, it turned to Charity Intelligence for support. Here, Director of Finance and Resources Tony Rowan explains what happened next to help the charity continue funding its life-saving work for years to come…

Q: Firstly, can you tell us a bit about the North West Air Ambulance Charity and what you do…
A: We exist to provide free of charge, emergency pre-hospital care to the people of the North West of England. Our three helicopters are crewed by highly skilled consultant-level doctors and critical care paramedics, providing cover typically during daylight hours. They’re supported by five critical care response vehicles, which also operate during the evening. This year, we’re celebrating our 25^th birthday and are saving more lives than ever before. We attend over 3,000 incidents annually. We receive no Government or NHS funding. So, we’re totally reliant on donations and sales income from our charity shops to raise the £18m we need each year to continue our life-saving work. 

Q: Why did you need to review your existing investments?
A:  We have a low appetite for risk, as we’re entirely funded by donations and income from the general public, so protecting these funds is vital.

Our investments are held primarily to safeguard our reserves and also to generate a return that’s at least in line with inflation. It’s important for a charity to hold reserves to ensure it can continue to operate in the event of a sudden downturn in income. And in times of high inflation, these reserves can lose value in real terms if they’re not growing in line with inflation. 

Over the last year, the rate of return we’d been receiving on our investments had been disappointing and we wanted to undertake a review of our investment strategy and available funds. This was to determine whether there were other funds that have a similarly low level of risk but would provide a greater return to ensure that our reserves are growing at a pace which is at least in line with inflation. We also wanted this review to be objective, independent and by someone with a thorough knowledge of charity investments.

Tony Rowan, Director of Finance and Resources at North West Air Ambulance Charity 

Q: Why did you choose Charity Intelligence to help you?
A:  I heard Lynn Pates from Charity Intelligence speak at a conference and was immediately struck by how knowledgeable she was about all aspects of charity finance, but particularly investments.

Lynn managed to demystify the world of investments by explaining difficult concepts in easy to understand language. Her wealth of experience meant she was the ideal person to provide us with an objective view of our investment strategy and performance.

Before contacting Lynn, I reviewed the Charity Intelligence website to find out more about the work they do and ‘look for the catch’ but there really is none – they are incredibly knowledgeable and qualified, with values completely aligned to helping charities through the range of services they deliver.

Q: You asked Charity Intelligence to produce a simple One Page Review of your existing investments. How did the review help you?
A:  Following a review of our investment strategy and fund performance, Lynn produced a report which showed there were better fund options for us. These carried a very low level of risk but had historic and anticipated future performance which outstripped our existing fund performance. The report highlighted different fund options, including charity funds which are only available to charities but we weren’t previously aware of.

We also wanted to appoint an investment advisor on a much more proactive reporting and review basis than we previously had. Lynn also worked with us to clarify our requirements and helped us produce tender documentation to appoint this advisor.

What particularly impressed us was how clear the information was and how previously difficult to understand concepts became understandable. This clarity helped our Board of Trustees agree to this tender process, with guidance from Lynn ensuring that the right questions were asked throughout so that we appointed someone who could meet our needs.

Q: What was the eventual outcome and what benefits do you hope it will bring your charity and the people you support?
A:  Following a rigorous tender process, we appointed a new investment advisor who will advise us on the best funds to invest in over the coming years and help us optimise the return we receive on our investments, given our low risk appetite. We hope it will ensure our reserves are at least growing in line with inflation and available for us to continue our life-saving services in the event of a sudden downturn in income, or to fund new initiatives if we need to. 

We’re delighted with the choice of investment advisor we’ve now made – and the role played by Lynn and Charity Intelligence has been invaluable.

Find out how Charity Intelligence can help your charity with an independent, low-cost review of its investments or support you to find the specialist advice you need. Drop us a line at [email protected] – we’d love to chat.