Finance

The Henry Smith Charity is an independent grant making trust.

The Charity was founded in 1628 by Henry Smith, a businessman working in the City of London. Since then, we have honoured the spirit of Henry Smith’s will, working to combat disadvantage and meet the challenges and opportunities facing people in need throughout the UK.

The organisation acts as a steward for the assets and financial resources left to the Charity by Henry Smith. We aim to continue the legacy of philanthropy established by our founder by:

• Honouring the spirit of Henry Smith’s will and interpret his charitable ethos for our modern society

• Providing stewardship of the Charity’s assets

• Funding organisations from all over the UK.

Investments

The Henry Smith Charity is a permanently endowed Trust. As of 31 December 2023, our endowment was valued at £1.3 billion. We use the profit generated by these investments to fund our grant making. We aim to maintain a permanent pool of investments to fund our work into the future.

Our investment strategy is to hold a diversified investment portfolio, with a substantial proportion invested in growth assets (e.g. equities and property) to provide longer term returns, and a smaller proportion in diversifying assets (e.g. bonds, hedge funds and cash) to mitigate market fluctuations and provide an alternative source of funding. Currently we hold around 60-65% of the portfolio in growth assets.

Annual Report and Accounts

Annual reports and accounts for the past three years, together with lists of the grants we awarded can be downloaded via our website. Our financial year runs from 1 January to 31 December annually.