Responsible investments at SFU

SFU is one of Canada’s leading research universities, and is dedicated to supporting students in their learning journey and scholars with their research and teaching. To provide the best programs for our students and contribute to academic research and knowledge, SFU employs a proactive approach to fiscal management and investments that ensures our institutional vision and priorities are fully supported.

This page is a resource for SFU community members interested in learning about investments at the university. This page will be updated regularly as new resources become available.

Mandate, Governance and Policies

The university is committed to financial accountability, and allocating and using resources based on the university’s strategic priorities. SFU ensures that investments—which are made to support the academic mission, including scholarships and research funding—are reported transparently. SFU’s investments also comply with provincial legislation under the University Act and our own policies.

The Board of Governors’ Finance, Investment and Property Committee is responsible for ensuring financial decisions are fiscally prudent and made in the best interests of the university, while also ensuring that these financial decisions are with the university’s strategic vision and priorities. This includes all investments, which are guided by the SFU Responsible Investment Policy (B10.16) and Investment Governance Policy (B10.09).

The Responsible Investment Policy sets out a framework to guide SFU’s approach to the incorporation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into investment decisions.

The Investment Governance Policy describes the structure established for the investments in the Endowment Fund and the Non-Endowment Fund and sets out the requirements for their ongoing, successful investment management.

In addition, the Endowment Management Policy (GP 20) establishes the framework for the management and oversight of the Endowment Fund.

Investment information is published under the Custodial Statement of Endowment Investments, with all past reports available on our Annual Reports and Publications page.

SFU’s investment approach

Our values guide us as an institution and are embedded throughout our operations, including our investment approach. We hold ourselves accountable to our purpose and communities by choosing to balance traditional investments (return and risk) with responsible investments focused on reducing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks. This balanced approach ensures we maintain sustainable long-term funding that allows us to support academic and research initiatives and provide an excellent learning and teaching environment, while meeting our commitments to our donors, partners and SFU community members. 

How it works

Generating additional revenue:

As a public sector institution with limited external funding, SFU generates extra revenue through donations and grants, and by investing unplanned surplus and endowment funds. This revenue is reinvested into programs and services, improving the learning and teaching environment.
Endowments are funded by donations, with donors specifying the intended use of these funds. The use for these funds can range from research, scholarships and bursaries to teaching and learning, athletics, and community engagement as per the wishes of the donors. These funds are not available for general operating expenses of the university. The university has a fiduciary duty for effective stewardship and administration of Endowments to ensure there is sufficient investment income generated to:
- Provide stable, predictable annual funds that can be reinvested.
- Ensure funds are available to support future generation of students (inter-generational equity).

Applying global, provincial and local guidelines:

As one of 5,300 signatories around the world that adhere to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, SFU incorporates environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) considerations into our investment decisions.
Resources provided by the Canadian Association of University Business Officers (CAUBO) allow our finance and investment teams to make informed decisions that are benchmarked against the industry and aligned with SFU’s investment targets and policies.
SFU works closely with external investment managers and investment consulting firms who provide a broader view on investment trends and impacts in the post-secondary industry.
SFU’s investments also comply with provincial legislation under the University Act, which requires investments be carefully considered and consistent with prudent investment standards, and our own policies that are supportive of university priorities.

Taking action:

Most of SFU’s investments are managed by external investment managers who have experience balancing traditional and socially conscious funds (known as funds with ESG considerations). Fund managers tend to perform better and significantly reduce risks for a portfolio the size of SFU's.
Most of SFU’s investments are in pooled funds, where SFU is one of many investors. To comply with our policy and legislative responsibilities, we look for pooled funds where it is expected that there will be a high-level of overlap in the rate of return and ESG considerations.
Endowment funds are invested in alignment with the donor’s requested area of focus and in accordance with the Endowment Management Policy, Investment Governance Policy and Responsible Investment Policy.
SFU also provides a learning experience through the Beedie School of Business, providing support to two student investment groups who manage specific endowment funds. One group is made up of undergraduate students (BEAM) and the other group is for graduate students (SIAS). Both student groups have faculty advisors and interested students must apply and be accepted into the program.
In 2021, SFU committed to divestment from fossil fuels – a phased process that is expected to be completed by the 2025–26 fiscal year. In keeping with our values, divested funds were reinvested into confirmed fossil fuel free funds.
In 2023, SFU was the first university in Canada to invest with Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB), an investment that directly benefits our local community.
The university’s Investment Advisory Committee regularly reviews Investment Summary Reports provided by SFU Treasury.

What we’ve learned

As a leader in responsible investment, the university deepened our commitment to sustainability and climate action by redirecting more than $400 million of our investment portfolio to fossil-fuel-free funds. As we near the final phase of this divestment, the mixed results have led to a further need for discussion on how SFU can further embed our values into our investment approach, while maintaining an excellent and sustainable learning and teaching environment.

Key learnings and considerations:

Responsible investment is a relatively new approach in an interconnected investment industry and investment experts are still finding ways for organizations to invest according to their values.
The interconnectedness of the industry also requires organizations to have a deeper understanding of the wider implications of divestment. For example: Will energy companies who are trying to develop clean energy sources want to donate or partner with organizations that have divested from their companies and key partners? Will companies continue to offer co-op placements to students of a university that has divested from their parent companies and key partners?
Divestment can have financial implications as this requires finding new investment managers who specialize in the target area, then selling SFU’s investments and reinvesting into new funds. In today’s challenging financial market, selling and reinvesting can cost more than expected and result in potential financial loss when the market changes between when the funds are sold and new funds are bought. This transactional cost impacts our ability to maintain long-term financial sustainability and meet our academic mandate.
By divesting from fossil fuel companies, SFU no longer has a voice at the table to advocate for change.
Divestment from specific causes may conflict with our responsibilities under the University Act to remain “non-sectarian and non-political in principle” (s. 66(1)).

Community Consultation

Earlier this year, former Board Chair Angie Lamarsh and President Joy Johnson shared information and next steps on responsible investments at SFU. While the consultation was intended to begin in the spring, early discussions with key groups identified a need to provide information and time for the Board’s Investment Advisory Committee to thoughtfully review the financial materials and provide guidance on next steps. The Board of Governors’ Investment Advisory Committee has a fiduciary duty and responsibility to protect SFU’s investments.

The proposed approach has now been shared with the university’s Investment Advisory Committee and will be presented to the full Board of Governors at the November meeting.

Anticipated timeline

Early December 2024: Following the Board meeting, if the SFU Board of Governors approves the approach, early consultation with key groups, including employee groups, SFSS and GSS, will take place in December.
End of December 2024/Early January 2025: Consultation materials will be finalized based on discussions at these meetings.
January/February 2025: The full community consultation is expected to take place in January 2025 with a goal to hear from the community on improvements to our investments that may require changes to the current policy.
February/March 2025: Feedback and proposed policy updates will be shared with SFU Board of Governors, who hold the ultimate responsibility for financial decisions and risks. They will review the updated policy updates prior to approval.

Finance