Questions about the Aetas ITW offering for charities

An Investment Policy Statement (IPS) is a formal document that sets out your charity's investment objectives, risk appetite, ethical restrictions, and governance framework for managing investments. If your charity has delegated discretionary investment management to an external manager, an IPS is a legal requirement under Charity Commission guidance. Many charities either do not have one, or hold a document that has not been reviewed in years and no longer reflects the organisation's current position. We can help you draft or update your IPS to reflect your current needs and obligations.

At a minimum, an IPS should be reviewed annually. It should also be reviewed whenever your circumstances change significantly — for example, if your investment manager changes, if there is a substantial change in your reserves or cashflow, or if your charitable objects or ethical position evolves. Many charities find that their IPS was written once and never revisited, which exposes trustees to risk if it no longer accurately reflects how the charity is being run.

In some respects, smaller charities are more exposed than larger ones — not because the obligations are different, but because volunteer boards frequently lack the specialist time or expertise to manage them confidently. The Charity Commission actively encourages trustees to seek independent advice when they lack the time, knowledge, or inclination to act alone. Independent governance support does not need to be extensive to make a meaningful difference to a board's confidence and effectiveness.

Yes. Governance support covers far more than investment oversight — it includes board structures, trustee responsibilities, conflict of interest management, accountability frameworks, and decision-making processes. Where a charity holds cash, best practice still recommends a clear investment policy, and cash management strategy is itself an area where many charities leave value on the table.

Training sessions are designed around your board's specific context and the areas where confidence or knowledge is most limited. Common areas include: understanding trustee legal duties, reading and interpreting investment performance reports, assessing fees and costs, understanding the types of investments held, and the role of ethical investment restrictions. Sessions can be delivered at board meetings or as standalone training events, and the Charity Commission explicitly encourages this kind of education.

Yes. Adena Street operates entirely independently, with no commercial relationships with investment managers, product providers, or other financial services firms. Where specialist expertise is required, Adena Street draws on the whole of the market. All advice is given in the interests of the client — never on the basis of any referral arrangement or commercial incentive.

An EAP typically provides reactive, crisis-focused support — it is valuable, but it is not a financial wellbeing programme. An EAP does not review your benefits structure, run proactive financial resilience workshops, or provide one-to-one guidance from a regulated financial planner. Aetas ITW sits alongside an EAP rather than replacing it, addressing a different and complementary set of needs: building financial capability and confidence before a crisis develops, rather than responding to one after it has.

One-to-one sessions are available to all employees and are provided at no charge to the individual. They are delivered confidentially by a regulated financial planner, by video call or in person, and cover whatever the individual would like to discuss — from day-to-day money management to pension planning or protection. The employer does not receive any information about the content of individual sessions. These sessions are consistently one of the most valued parts of the programme.

Workshop topics are designed around the specific profile and life stages of your workforce. Common areas include: day-to-day money management and building a financial buffer, understanding workplace benefits and pension entitlements, managing financial pressure and debt, mid-career planning around mortgages, protection, and family finances, and planning for later life. Sessions are practical and grounded in everyday reality — the aim is to replace uncertainty and anxiety with clarity and capability.

Financial anxiety does not respect purpose. People who are genuinely motivated by their work are still vulnerable to the practical pressures of financial uncertainty — and in many cases, the salary gap between the not-for-profit and private sectors creates a specific tension that is different from what private sector employees face. Supporting your people financially is not at odds with your mission. It is what makes it sustainable.

In a team of twelve, the impact of one financially stressed or disengaged person is felt by everyone around them. The cost of losing them — recruitment, induction, and the time it takes to rebuild institutional knowledge — is disproportionate. Aetas ITW is designed for organisations of this size. The programme is scaled to fit, and the discovery conversation is provided at no cost so you can understand what it might look like before committing to anything.

The workshops and group sessions are educational in nature and do not constitute regulated financial advice. Where individual regulated advice is appropriate — for example, around pension decisions, investment choices, or protection planning — this is provided separately by Aetas Wealth, a trading style of Insight Financial Associates Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (registration number 458421).

Aetas ITW is designed to be light on leadership time. The diagnostic conversation is typically an hour. From there, we develop the programme, coordinate delivery, manage all employee communications, and provide ongoing oversight — without requiring your leadership team to manage providers or produce materials themselves. Most leaders find the process considerably lighter than they anticipated, and are pleasantly surprised by how much is handled on their behalf.