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The investment consultants advising the most UK charities in 2026 are Cambridge Associates and Stanhope Capital, each named on 17 charity accounts in Dakota Marketplace, followed by Marsh (formerly Mercer) on 10 and Redington and Asset Risk Consultants on nine each. Only 156 of the 1,746 UK charities, endowments and foundations in Marketplace name a consultant, about one in eleven, so knowing which ones do is a short and valuable list (Dakota Marketplace, October 2026).
Key Takeaways
- A named investment consultant sits on 156 UK charity accounts in Dakota Marketplace, 9% of the total. Ten firms account for 89 of those relationships.
- Cambridge Associates advises the larger end: its 17 charity clients hold a combined $7.5 billion, with a median of $222 million. Stanhope Capital's 17 hold $2.9 billion, with a median of $125 million.
- Consultant use rises with size. 26% of charities above $1 billion name a consultant, against 4% of those under $25 million.
- A consultant does not replace the manager. 116 of the 156 consultant-advised charities also name their investment managers, and those managers are more often institutional firms than a single wealth manager.
- The consultants are allocator accounts in their own right. Lane Clark & Peacock, Barnett Waddingham, Hymans Robertson, Redington and Stanhope Capital are all in Marketplace with their own contacts.
Which consultants advise the most UK charities?
The league table counts UK charity, endowment and foundation accounts in Dakota Marketplace that name each firm as investment consultant. It measures the number of charity relationships, with the combined investment assets of those charities shown alongside.
|
Rank
|
Consultant
|
Charity accounts
|
Combined charity assets
|
Largest named clients
|
|
1=
|
Cambridge Associates
|
17
|
$7.5B
|
The Henry Smith Charity, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, The Nuffield Foundation
|
|
1=
|
Stanhope Capital
|
17
|
$2.9B
|
Society of Jesus Trust of 1929, Morden College, Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851
|
|
3
|
Marsh (formerly Mercer)
|
10
|
$15.2B
|
Church Commissioners for England, King's College, Cambridge, BBC Children in Need
|
|
4=
|
Redington
|
9
|
$2.4B
|
The Health Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Exeter College, Oxford
|
|
4=
|
Asset Risk Consultants
|
9
|
$0.6B
|
Masonic Charitable Foundation, King Henry VIII Endowed Trust, The Ethos Foundation
|
|
6
|
Lane Clark & Peacock
|
8
|
$4.6B
|
The Motability Foundation, St John's College, Cambridge, Lloyd's Register Foundation
|
|
7
|
Barnett Waddingham
|
7
|
$0.4B
|
The Eveson Trust, York Minster, Royal Automobile Club Foundation
|
|
8
|
Portfolio Review Services
|
6
|
$0.2B
|
Elizabeth Finn Care, The Booth Charities
|
|
9=
|
JT Financial Management
|
3
|
$0.5B
|
The Prudence Trust, Pembroke College, Oxford
|
|
9=
|
Epoch Consulting Group
|
3
|
$0.05B
|
Institute of Biomedical Science, Chartered Institute of Building, Biochemical Society
|
Source: Dakota Marketplace, October 2026. Combined assets are the investment assets of the client charities, not assets under advice.
Just below the table, Hymans Robertson (The Corporation of Trinity House, The Thalidomide Trust), WTW (New College, Oxford), Crewcial Partners and Wren Investment Office each appear on two accounts. A further three charities name other Mercer entities. Albourne is recorded as consultant to the Wellcome Trust.
The Marsh figure is dominated by one client. The Church Commissioners for England account for $14.1 billion of the $15.2 billion.
How common is it for a UK charity to use a consultant?
It is the exception. 156 of 1,746 UK charity accounts in Dakota Marketplace name an investment consultant. By comparison, roughly 1,200 name an investment manager.
The share rises steadily with size.
|
Investment assets
|
Charities
|
Naming a consultant
|
Share
|
|
$1 billion+
|
31
|
8
|
26%
|
|
$250 million to $1 billion
|
133
|
22
|
17%
|
|
$100 million to $250 million
|
210
|
38
|
18%
|
|
$50 million to $100 million
|
273
|
30
|
11%
|
|
$25 million to $50 million
|
462
|
35
|
8%
|
|
Under $25 million
|
637
|
23
|
4%
|
Source: Dakota Marketplace, October 2026.
The pattern has a simple explanation. A charity that hands its whole portfolio to one wealth manager has little need for a consultant. A charity that runs a panel of managers needs someone to help set the strategy, run the searches and monitor the results, and that is the consultant's job.
That is also why these 156 accounts are worth more to a fund manager than their number suggests. They are the charities most likely to appoint specialist managers directly.
Who are the leading charity consultants?
Cambridge Associates
Cambridge Associates is named on 17 UK charity accounts holding a combined $7.5 billion. Its clients are the large independent grant-makers: The Henry Smith Charity ($1.9 billion), Paul Hamlyn Foundation ($1.2 billion), The Nuffield Foundation ($757 million), Shell Foundation ($683 million), John Lyon's Charity ($492 million) and The Sigrid Rausing Trust ($413 million). Three Oxbridge colleges are also on the list: Jesus College and St Antony's College in Oxford, and Murray Edwards College in Cambridge.
With a median client size of $222 million, this is the consultant for endowment-style portfolios. For a fund manager with an institutional strategy, this is the single most relevant research relationship in the UK charity market.
Stanhope Capital
Stanhope Capital matches Cambridge Associates on count with 17 accounts, holding a combined $2.9 billion. Its clients sit one tier down in size, with a median of $125 million: the Society of Jesus Trust of 1929 ($902 million), Morden College ($392 million), the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 ($215 million), The Girls' Day School Trust ($187 million), Newnham College, Cambridge ($176 million) and The Baring Foundation ($137 million).
The managers named on Stanhope-advised accounts are worth noting. Baillie Gifford, BlackRock and Rathbones each appear on four of them, which shows these charities building portfolios from several specialist managers.
Marsh (formerly Mercer)
Marsh (formerly Mercer) is named on 10 accounts. Beyond the Church Commissioners, its charity clients include King's College, Cambridge ($295 million), The Edward James Foundation ($144 million), BBC Children in Need ($131 million) and The Racing Foundation ($117 million).
Redington
Redington advises nine charities holding $2.4 billion, led by The Health Foundation ($1.6 billion) and Cancer Research UK ($399 million), with Exeter College, Oxford, The Barrow Cadbury Trust and the Science Museum Foundation also on the list.
Lane Clark & Peacock
Lane Clark & Peacock has fewer clients, eight, but large ones: The Motability Foundation ($2.8 billion), St John's College, Cambridge ($1.0 billion), Lloyd's Register Foundation ($421 million) and the Royal Institute of British Architects ($142 million). Combined, its charity clients hold $4.6 billion.
Asset Risk Consultants, Barnett Waddingham and Portfolio Review Services
These three firms serve the mid-sized and smaller end of the market. Asset Risk Consultants is named on nine accounts with a median size of $35 million, led by the Masonic Charitable Foundation ($237 million). Barnett Waddingham has seven, including The Eveson Trust ($132 million). Portfolio Review Services has six, all under $70 million.
At this size the consultant's role is typically independent oversight: reviewing the incumbent manager's performance for the trustees and running a tender when the trustees want to test the market.
Selling into consultant-advised charities? Dakota Marketplace lets you filter UK charities by named consultant, then see each charity's assets, current managers and trustees. The consultants are in Marketplace too, with their own research contacts. Book a demo.
Do UK charities use specialist property advisers?
Some do. Alongside the general consultant, 27 UK charity accounts in Dakota Marketplace name a real estate consultant, reflecting how much directly held land and property sits in older endowments. St John's College, Cambridge names Savills, and Barts Charity names Swiss Life Asset Management.
For real estate managers, those 27 accounts are the charities with enough direct property to need professional advice on it. Only two accounts name a private equity consultant.
What does the consultant map mean for fund managers?
It tells you which sale you are making. A charity with a named consultant and a panel of managers selects specialist managers, and the consultant will be in the room when it does. A charity with one wealth manager and no consultant buys through that manager.
Three practical steps follow.
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Cover the consultant as an account. Lane Clark & Peacock (83 contacts), Barnett Waddingham (86), Hymans Robertson (95), Redington (42), Stanhope Capital (26) and WTW (20) all have UK consultant accounts in Dakota Marketplace. A rating or a place on a consultant's research list reaches every client at once.
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Read the consultant alongside the managers. 116 of the 156 consultant-advised charities also name their current managers. That shows you what the consultant has already recommended, and where your strategy would be an addition or a replacement.
-
Use size as the filter. Four in five consultant-advised charities hold under $250 million. A strategy with a high minimum should focus on the 30 above that line; a pooled fund can address the full list.
Our guide to who decides at a UK charity covers the trustees, investment committees and finance directors who make the final decision once the consultant has made its recommendation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which investment consultant advises the most UK charities?
Cambridge Associates and Stanhope Capital are tied, each named as investment consultant on 17 UK charity accounts in Dakota Marketplace as of October 2026. Marsh (formerly Mercer) follows with 10, then Redington and Asset Risk Consultants with nine each.
How many UK charities use an investment consultant?
About one in eleven of those with significant investments. Dakota Marketplace names a consultant on 156 of 1,746 UK charity, endowment and foundation accounts. The share is 26% for charities above $1 billion and 4% for those under $25 million.
What does an investment consultant do for a charity?
A consultant advises the trustees on investment strategy, helps select and review investment managers, and reports on performance. At smaller charities the role is mainly independent oversight of a single wealth manager; at larger ones it includes running searches for specialist managers.
Which consultant advises the largest UK charities?
By combined client assets, Marsh (formerly Mercer) leads at $15.2 billion because it is named on the Church Commissioners for England account. Cambridge Associates follows at $7.5 billion across 17 charities, and Lane Clark & Peacock at $4.6 billion across eight.
Do Oxford and Cambridge colleges use investment consultants?
Several do. Dakota Marketplace names Cambridge Associates on Jesus College and St Antony's College in Oxford and Murray Edwards College in Cambridge, Lane Clark & Peacock on St John's College, Cambridge, WTW on New College, Oxford, and Redington on Exeter College, Oxford.
How can a fund manager find out which consultant a UK charity uses?
Larger UK charities name their advisers in the annual accounts they file with the Charity Commission. Dakota Marketplace records the consultant on each charity's account and makes it a filter, so a fundraiser can pull every charity advised by a given firm in one search.
Ready to see which consultant sits behind each charity?
Dakota Marketplace maps more than 1,700 UK charities, endowments and foundations with 10,900 contacts with email. Filter by account type (Foundation or Endowment) and country, select a consultant such as Cambridge Associates or Stanhope Capital, narrow by AUM, and open any account to see the managers already in place and the trustees who decide. If consultants are part of your UK plan, this is the quickest way to see their charity client lists.
Book a Demo to explore UK charities by consultant.
Related reading: Who Manages UK Charity Money? The 2026 Manager League Table · Top 10 UK Charities by Investment Assets · Top 10 Largest LGPS Funds in the UK
