Clare Hall’s investment policy excludes “Companies that derive more than 10% of their revenue from strategic military sales.” Many colleges instead define corporations by their primary business practice, which allows for investment in companies that still make huge amounts of weapons (often more than some companies who primarily make weapons). A revenue-based definition, like Clare Hall’s, is a necessary condition for full divestment — but should exclude companies who make any of their revenue from arms sales.
Divested?
No, but lists arms specifically in its Responsible Investing policy.
FOI Request
Refused. Claimed not to have details of Cambridge University Endowment Fund investments (which make up 94.7% of the college’s endowment funds, according to its 2024 financial report). It holds 456, 013 units of the Fund at 70.87 GBP each with a total value of 32.3 million GBP as of 30 June 2024.
Source
The bursar of Clare Hall answered a freedom of information request as follow:
Thank you for your request; please find answers to your questions below:
- The College does not hold this information, as the accounts for the year are not yet finalised. This will be published by December 2024 on https://www.clarehall.cam.ac.uk/official/ under “Financial Reports”, when a link will be created titles “Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 30 June 2024”. Under “Financial Reports” you can find the figure for the year ended 30 June 2023 under “Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 30 June 2023” on page 30, section 10 “Investment Assets”, row 5 “Cambridge University Endowment Fund”.
- The College does not hold this information.
Yours,
Bursar, Clare Hall
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Investment policy
Clare Hall Investment Policy and 2024 Financial Report.
The Investment Policy has a Responsible Investing section which mentions arms:
“Clare Hall wishes to invest in a way that reflects the values and concerns of our students, staff and stakeholders. For this reason, the Finance Committee reserves the right to identify and exclude specific business activities from forming part of our portfolio. This currently includes
- Companies involved in the production of tobacco products, adult entertainment, nuclear weapons and weapons, such as cluster-munitions and anti-personnel mines, that are banned by international treaties;
- Companies that derive more than 10% of their revenue from strategic military sales, civilian firearms, gambling, alcohol and high interest rate lending.”
Contacts
Bursar: Per Reiff-Musgrove; bursar@clarehall.cam.ac.uk
Senior tutor: Dr Holly Hedgeland; senior.tutor@clarehall.cam.ac.uk
Master: Professor Alan Short; president@clarehall.cam.ac.uk