European Foundation Financial and Investment Officers Group
This group of senior financial and investment officers of large independent European foundations aims to advance the knowledge on the investment environment and practice of foundations across Europe and further the professionalism of its members.
Focus areas
- Investment governance
- Endowment asset management
- Financial market trends
- Global economic outlook
Activities
- Two meetings per year
- Annual members’ survey on investment policies and practice
- Issue-specific surveys on key aspects of foundation investments (e.g. investment governance, spending policy)
- Building an information base on foundation investments
- Ongoing exchange with the US-based Foundation Financial Officers Group (FFOG), including a joint conference every five years
The idea of creating a platform for European foundation financial officers to address specific European investment issues was tabled by members of Philea, with the Van Leer Group Foundation leading the process towards the establishment of EFFIO in 2002. EFFIO currently has 27 Members from 11 countries with a collective asset base of approximately €100 billion.
Important speakers and contributors
EFFIO meetings strike a balance between topical discussions on investment topics and integrated discussions on broader macro topics. While the value proposition of EFFIO is the safe and trusted environment it offers to its members to engage in candid discussions, external experts are regularly invited by the group to exchange ideas on a range of pressing topics.
Below is a list of selected celebrated thinkers and leaders from industry, academia, international organisations, think tanks and civil society, who have contributed to recent EFFIO meetings:
- Chris Barrett, Executive Director for Finance and Economics, European Climate Foundation
- Leonardo Beccheti, Professor of Economics, University of Rome Tor Vergata
- Rebecca Christie, Visiting Fellow, Bruegel
- Elroy Dimson, Professor of Finance, Cambridge Judge Business School
- Daniel Gros, Director, CEPS – Centre for European Policy Studies
- Mehran Gul, Lead for Digital Enterprise, World Economic Forum
- Leslie Harroun, Director, Partners for a New Economy
- Marian Hogeslag, Partner, DoubleDividend
- Catherine Howarth, Chief Executive, ShareAction
- Stephen Jen, CEO, Eurizon SLJ Capital Limited
- Donough Kilmurray, Managing Director Investment Strategy, Goldman Sachs
- Jonathan McMillan, author of the book “The End of Banking”
- Rainer Muenz, Adviser on Migration, Demography to the European Political Strategy Centre
- Russell Napier, author of “The Solid Ground” report and co-founder of ERIC
- Robert Palmer, Executive Director, Tax Justice UK
- Peter Piot, Director and the Handa Professor of Global Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- Neil Record, Chairman, Record Currency Management
- Tove Maria Ryding, Policy and Advocacy Manager on Tax Justice, European Network on Debt and Development
- Jamie Shea, Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, NATO
- Sajid Javid, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, HM Government
EFFIO meetings have also featured representatives from the European institutions.
Contact
