Biggest investment in Church's history, with focus on support for churches in lowest income communities and safeguarding.

The following is the transcript of a talk given at the Solaris Executive Leadership Academy by Alan Smith, First Church Estates Commissioner, The Church Commissioners for England, on 28 May 2025.

John Worth is being appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Church Commissioners for England, responsible for managing one of the nation’s leading endowment funds, with a 320-year legacy.

The Church of England Pensions Board on Thursday 15 May 2025 attended and spoke as a shareholder at the AGM of Lloyds Bank in Edinburgh.  

The Church of England Pensions Board on Wednesday 30 April 2025 attended and spoke as a shareholder at the AGM of Anglo American in London.

John Ball, CEO of the Church of England Pensions Board, has been appointed to the board of the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association’s (PLSA) Policy Board.

Sir Robert Buckland has been appointed the new Third Church Estates Commissioner, succeeding the Rt Revd Dr Flora Winfield, who was recently appointed Bishop of Selby.

The Church of England Pensions Board is urging the public to back the #GomaCallForPeace calling on leaders to return to talks to prevent further loss of lives, the growing humanitarian crisis and risk of regional escalation.

The £3.4 billion Church of England Pensions Board highlights risk of exposure to international supply chains from minerals from the conflict area.

This opinion piece by Alan Smith, the Church of England's First Church Estates Commissioner, was originally published in the Daily Telegraph on 14 January, 2025.