Key Takeaways
- • Cambridge Associates and Stanhope Capital are tied as the most-named investment consultants to UK charities, each advising 17 charity accounts in Dakota Marketplace as of October 2026, with combined charity assets of $7.5 billion and $2.9 billion respectively.
- • Only 156 of 1,746 UK charities, endowments and foundations in Dakota Marketplace name an investment consultant, roughly 9% or about one in eleven, while about 1,200 name an investment manager.
- • Consultant use rises with charity size: 26% of charities above $1 billion name a consultant, compared with 4% of those under $25 million.
- • Of the 156 consultant-advised charities, 116 also name their investment managers, which Dakota notes are more often institutional firms than a single wealth manager.
- • Four in five consultant-advised charities hold under $250 million, so strategies with high minimums may focus on the 30 charities above that threshold, according to Dakota's analysis.
Summary
Dakota Marketplace's 2026 league table, published October 2026, ranks the investment consultants advising the most UK charities. Cambridge Associates and Stanhope Capital are tied at the top with 17 charity accounts each. Cambridge's clients hold a combined $7.5 billion, with a median of $222 million, and include The Henry Smith Charity, Paul Hamlyn Foundation and The Nuffield Foundation. Stanhope's clients hold a combined $2.9 billion, with a median of $125 million, and include the Society of Jesus Trust of 1929 and Morden College.
Marsh (formerly Mercer) ranks third with 10 accounts holding $15.2 billion, though Dakota notes that $14.1 billion of this sits with a single client, the Church Commissioners for England. Redington and Asset Risk Consultants follow with nine accounts each. Lane Clark & Peacock advises eight charities holding $4.6 billion, while Barnett Waddingham and Portfolio Review Services serve smaller charities. Hymans Robertson, WTW, Crewcial Partners and Wren Investment Office each appear on two accounts, according to the table.
Consultant use is uncommon and rises with size, according to Dakota's data. Of 1,746 UK charity accounts in the database, 156 name an investment consultant. Dakota describes the consultant's role as helping charities with panels of managers set strategy, run manager searches and monitor results, which makes these accounts more likely to appoint specialist managers directly. Dakota also reports that 27 accounts name a real estate consultant and two name a private equity consultant.
Dakota's report recommends that fund managers cover consultants as accounts, since Lane Clark & Peacock, Barnett Waddingham, Hymans Robertson, Redington and Stanhope Capital all have contacts in the platform. The data is from a commercial database and reflects named relationships in Dakota Marketplace rather than total assets under advice; the report notes that combined figures refer to the investment assets of client charities.
Marsh (formerly Mercer) ranks third with 10 accounts holding $15.2 billion, though Dakota notes that $14.1 billion of this sits with a single client, the Church Commissioners for England. Redington and Asset Risk Consultants follow with nine accounts each. Lane Clark & Peacock advises eight charities holding $4.6 billion, while Barnett Waddingham and Portfolio Review Services serve smaller charities. Hymans Robertson, WTW, Crewcial Partners and Wren Investment Office each appear on two accounts, according to the table.
Consultant use is uncommon and rises with size, according to Dakota's data. Of 1,746 UK charity accounts in the database, 156 name an investment consultant. Dakota describes the consultant's role as helping charities with panels of managers set strategy, run manager searches and monitor results, which makes these accounts more likely to appoint specialist managers directly. Dakota also reports that 27 accounts name a real estate consultant and two name a private equity consultant.
Dakota's report recommends that fund managers cover consultants as accounts, since Lane Clark & Peacock, Barnett Waddingham, Hymans Robertson, Redington and Stanhope Capital all have contacts in the platform. The data is from a commercial database and reflects named relationships in Dakota Marketplace rather than total assets under advice; the report notes that combined figures refer to the investment assets of client charities.
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