Supporting a UK University to Safeguard Major Project Funding

The Challenge  

A leading UK university needed an investment approach that could support their spending plans, which often changed. Their top priority was keeping their money safe while still having access to funds when needed. 

The thinking in response  

We spent time with the university to fully understand their goals. Based on this, we recommended keeping around £200 million in safer, easy-to-access investments with very low risk of losing money. The remaining £300 million would be gradually used to top up the safer investments over time, helping to fund projects over the next three years. 

We presented three different investment options, comparing them to simply holding the money in cash. We explained the pros and cons of each—looking at things like risk, potential returns, how easily the money could be accessed, and how much oversight was needed. 

Improvements in financial confidence  

Our plan gave the university the flexibility they needed to fund their projects, while also helping them earn around £14 million more over three years than they would have with a basic cash approach. We also made their investments more secure, with only a small chance (2%) of losing money in any given year.