Not for profit organisations

Australian Implemented Consulting - Not for Profit

Investing is challenging, there are a lot of things to get right and there's a lot on the line. Not-for-profit organisations have an extremely challenging task. In effect, they have in the main been donated or bequeathed money, so they really feel this need to honor that trust that's been placed in them and use that money effectively and get it to further the mission that it's been put aside for. So we really want to make sure that when we're providing an investment strategy it is as efficient as possible to sort of help them meet those goals.

Well, I think the first thing to realise is that every single client is unique and so a cookie cutter approach just won't work. Spending the time to get to know the people, the organisation, you know what they stand for is important in terms of being able to deliver a successful outcome.

What's really important to me is that our clients really see us as an extension of their business. So the level of interaction and candor and mutual respect we have for our clients as well as our peers, to me is pretty much the same. One of the foundations I work on has a real sort of environmental ethos and so we work with them to provide a strategy that maximises their return but also meets their green targets. Then each meeting they talk to us about exactly how they're spending their money, exactly what missions they're furthering and helping save rainforests or irrigation projects in northern territories, these are things that they are passionate about and you can really see that when you're working with them.

There's really no substitute for local knowledge when it comes to manager research, having people on the ground who are there living their lives with other fund managers is a real benefit. They get to understand how these people manage money day to day, they get to understand the local nuances in that economy and they also get to identify new opportunities that may emerge with emerging managers.

The difference I think with Russell Investments is we're clever people but we take the time to really get to understand our clients, understand their circumstances, understand as they're changing and that I think makes us able to give them better advice and invest and produce better outcomes for them.