University Investment Portfolio Statistics

People & Planet made this Freedom of Information request to Royal Agricultural University as part of a batch sent to 153 authorities Automatic anti-spam measures are in place for this older request. Please let us know if a further response is expected or if you are having trouble responding.

The request was partially successful.

To whom it may concern,

This is a request for information through the Freedom of Information Act.

1. What was the total market value of the university’s investment portfolio(s) on the 31st July 2022?

If you are going to provide this information through your Annual Accounts/Financial Statements, please provide the specific page number, section and row that the value can be found on. For example, page 28, section 5 “Investments”, row “total market value.”

For guidance on the number we are seeking, please see this example from the University of Glasgow at ‘Annual Investments’ in cell C1091 here: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/sustaina...

2. On the 31st July 2022, were the institution's investment portfolio(s) managed directly by the institution, indirectly by [an] external fund manager(s), or a combination of both?

3. If the university uses external fund manager(s) to manage investment portfolios, please provide the name of each fund manager used, along with the percentage of the total investment funds that they were managing on the 31st July 2022.

Please present this information in this format:

Fund manager name - Percentage of total investment funds managed
Schroders - 47%
CCLA - 49%
University - 4%

4. If the institution invests directly, please provide the details of companies invested in (by way of all investment portfolios), including the full names of each company invested in, and the market value invested in each company on the 31st July 2022. Please provide this information in a spreadsheet format.

5. If the university holds investments through [an] external fund manager(s), please provide a breakdown of the university’s holdings with that investment manager on the 31st July 2022, including the market value for each company that forms part of your investment portfolio(s) with them. Please provide this information at a company level in a spreadsheet and/or the format that this information is provided to you by your fund manager(s).

For example, see the University of Glasgow’s breakdown at ‘Annual Investments’ here: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/sustaina...

6. Does the institution have an ethical investment policy, or similar? If so, please state if it is publicly-available, and provide a web link.

If applicable, in response to any of the above information requested, please confirm that the University does not hold this information.

Please confirm receipt of this request and we look forward to hearing back from you within the next 20 working days.

Yours sincerely,

Laura Clayson

Dear Royal Agricultural University,

Could you please advise when a response is likely to be received to my Freedom of Information request about 'University Investment Portfolio Statistics'?

Under the Act a response should generally be received within 20 working days of receiving the request (3rd October). Of course, we fully understand and empathise with the challenging circumstances universities continue to face at the moment and have given additional time from that date before reaching out to you again.

We would be most grateful to receive a response or a time-frame within which one will be received.

Kind Regards and looking forward to hearing from you,

Laura Clayson

FOI, Royal Agricultural University

Dear Laura, I have checked everyone of the emails in the FOI inbox and this doesn't seem to have been received, would you mind forwarding it again to this email address please and 'cc'ing' myself in at [email address] and I will look at it as a priority.

Many thanks and best wishes,

Sara Papps
Royal Agricultural University FOI

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Sara Papps, Royal Agricultural University

Sara Papps
Planning & Administration Manager
Institutional Planning & Governance
Royal Agricultural University
Cirencester
Gloucestershire
GL7 6JS

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Dear Sara Papps,

I am resending below the request for information through the Freedom of Information Act. Find it below. Unfortunately, What Do They Know did omit the email address that you have sent in your previous message. Could you please confirm that you can access this FOI request (originally sent on 1 Sep 2022).

Kind regards,
Laura Clayson

This is a request for information through the Freedom of Information Act.

1. What was the total market value of the university’s investment portfolio(s) on the 31st July 2022?

If you are going to provide this information through your Annual Accounts/Financial Statements, please provide the specific page number, section and row that the value can be found on. For example, page 28, section 5 “Investments”, row “total market value.”

For guidance on the number we are seeking, please see this example from the University of Glasgow at ‘Annual Investments’ in cell C1091 here: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/sustaina...

2. On the 31st July 2022, were the institution's investment portfolio(s) managed directly by the institution, indirectly by [an] external fund manager(s), or a combination of both?

3. If the university uses external fund manager(s) to manage investment portfolios, please provide the name of each fund manager used, along with the percentage of the total investment funds that they were managing on the 31st July 2022.

Please present this information in this format:

Fund manager name - Percentage of total investment funds managed
Schroders - 47%
CCLA - 49%
University - 4%

4. If the institution invests directly, please provide the details of companies invested in (by way of all investment portfolios), including the full names of each company invested in, and the market value invested in each company on the 31st July 2022. Please provide this information in a spreadsheet format.

5. If the university holds investments through [an] external fund manager(s), please provide a breakdown of the university’s holdings with that investment manager on the 31st July 2022, including the market value for each company that forms part of your investment portfolio(s) with them. Please provide this information at a company level in a spreadsheet and/or the format that this information is provided to you by your fund manager(s).

For example, see the University of Glasgow’s breakdown at ‘Annual Investments’ here: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/sustaina...

6. Does the institution have an ethical investment policy, or similar? If so, please state if it is publicly-available, and provide a web link.

If applicable, in response to any of the above information requested, please confirm that the University does not hold this information.

Please confirm receipt of this request and we look forward to hearing back from you within the next 20 working days.

Yours sincerely,

Laura Clayson

Sara Papps, Royal Agricultural University

Hi Laura,

Thank you for resending this request. I did not receive the original request that you sent back in September, I think it may have been 'quarantined' and did not reach me, as FOI requests go to a different mailbox, but I will ensure that I get this information to you as soon as possible.

Many thanks and best wishes,

Sara Papps
Royal Agricultural University FOI

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FOI, Royal Agricultural University

1 Attachment

Dear Laura,

Thank you for your request for information (below), received on 9th November 2022.

Your request has been considered under the Freedom of Information Act (2000).You asked:

"1. What was the total market value of the university's investment portfolio(s) on the 31st July 2022?

If you are going to provide this information through your Annual Accounts/Financial Statements, please provide the specific page number, section and row that the value can be found on. For example, page 28, section 5 "Investments", row "total market value."

For guidance on the number we are seeking, please see this example from the University of Glasgow at 'Annual Investments' in cell C1091 here: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/sustaina...

2. On the 31st July 2022, were the institution's investment portfolio(s) managed directly by the institution, indirectly by [an] external fund manager(s), or a combination of both?

3. If the university uses external fund manager(s) to manage investment portfolios, please provide the name of each fund manager used, along with the percentage of the total investment funds that they were managing on the 31st July 2022.

Please present this information in this format:

Fund manager name - Percentage of total investment funds managed

Schroders - 47%

CCLA - 49%

University - 4%

4. If the institution invests directly, please provide the details of companies invested in (by way of all investment portfolios), including the full names of each company invested in, and the market value invested in each company on the 31st July 2022. Please provide this information in a spreadsheet format.

5. If the university holds investments through [an] external fund manager(s), please provide a breakdown of the university's holdings with that investment manager on the 31st July 2022, including the market value for each company that forms part of your investment portfolio(s) with them. Please provide this information at a company level in a spreadsheet and/or the format that this information is provided to you by your fund manager(s).

For example, see the University of Glasgow's breakdown at 'Annual Investments' here: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/sustaina...

6. Does the institution have an ethical investment policy, or similar? If so, please state if it is publicly-available, and provide a web link."

The response from the RAU, is as follows:

1. a) £2,258,000 b) N/A

2. By an external fund manager.

3. Brewin Dolphin.

4. N/A

5. Individual investments are commercially sensitive and are therefore exempt from FOI requests.

6. The RAU is in discussions with Brewin Dolphin regarding an SRI (Socially Responsible Investment) policy.

I hope that this response is helpful to you. 

If you have any further queries related to this request, details of our review procedure are attached.

Kind regards,

Sara Papps
Royal Agricultural University FOI

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Dear Royal Agricultural University,

I am writing to request an internal review of the university's handling of my FOI request 'University Investment Portfolio Statistics'.

I would like to please request an internal review on the decision not to disclose market values at the company-level within the university's investment portfolios on the grounds that such information is "commercially sensitive".

Other institutions in the sector have willingly disclosed this information to us for analysis this year - and in the previous years that we have undertaken this annual research. Additionally, there are a number of universities that publish this information on their public-facing websites. This is in spite of the issues you have raised, indicating public interest around the transparency and accountability of public authorities outweighs the arguments for non-disclosure that you highlight.

Please let me know if there is anything more you need from me to support the internal review process.

Please may I remind you that guidance published by the Information Commissioner's Office states internal reviews should ideally take no longer than 20 working days.

Kind Regards,
Laura Clayson

FOI, Royal Agricultural University

Dear Laura

 

Thank you for your request to conduct an internal review regarding a
recent FOI request.

 

As the first agricultural college in the English-speaking world and the
only one with a Royal Charter, we take matters of sustainability very
seriously.

 

Following our internal review (process detailed below), the original
decision has been upheld and it will not be possible to disclose our
Investment Portfolio Statistics.

 

Our internal review concluded: that our individual investments are
commercially sensitive and are therefore exempt from FOI requests.

 

If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint,
you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:

 

The Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

[1]www.ico.gov.uk

[2][email address]

 

Freedom of Information Internal Review Process - Royal Agricultural
University

 

The Royal Agricultural University typical process for conducting an
Internal Review relating to an FOI request is as follows:

 

Overview

You have the right to complain to us if your request for information is:

 

•          denied

•          partially denied, or

•          if you’re otherwise unhappy with the response to your request

 

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s
Office (ICO), but you must exhaust our internal review process first.

 

Where practical, we’ll try to resolve your concerns informally by:

 

•          explaining in more detail the grounds for refusal to disclose
any or all of the information requested, or

•          clarifying the exemption(s) being relied on

If it isn’t possible to resolve the complaint informally, we’ll notify you
of your right to begin the internal review process.

If you ask us for an internal review, we’ll treat this as a formal
complaint subject to the internal review procedure.

 

Several outcomes are possible:

 

•          the original decision is upheld, or

•          the original decision is reversed in part or in full, or

•          the original decision is modified

 

Timing

You should contact us within 40 days of the date of our ‘right to know’
decision letter, letting us know you’d like an internal review.

There’s no statutory deadline for undertaking internal reviews. Guidance
published by the ICO states internal reviews should take no longer than 20
working days.
If it isn’t possible to reach a decision in that time, we’ll let you know.
We’ll also give you the anticipated timescale for our response.

 

Internal review

Internal reviews are handled by the Institutional Planning & Governance
Team.
They’re responsible for reviewing the decision and the material (if held).
Other RAU staff may also be involved before reaching a decision.

 

The final decision will be made by:

 

•          the Internal Reviewer or

•          another senior member of staff not involved in the original
decision. As part of the process, we’ll consider whether:

•          the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has been properly
applied: whether the information requested genuinely falls within the
exemption(s) cited and if any balancing of public interests favours
non-disclosure

•          there have been any developments since the original response;
this will include any points you made when making your complaint

•          it’s possible to provide you with any further information, and

•          there are any lessons for handling future cases

 

We’ll tell you if the original decision has changed. We’ll either send you
the information requested or let you know the date you may expect it.

 

We’ll let you know the outcome of the review, explaining it and referring
to the relevant exemption(s). We’ll also advise you of your right to
appeal to the ICO.

 

Best regards,

 

Matt Jones

Director of Institutional Planning & Policy (IPG)

Institutional Planning & Governance

Email: [3][email address]

Extension: 2377
[4]www.rau.ac.uk

 

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The Information Commissioner's Office has issued a Decision Notice in respect of this request, which can be seen at https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-tak...

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