A coalition of 79 U.K. colleges and universities is seeding a new fossil-free cash investment fund with nearly 500 million pounds ($671.5 million). The group was formed by the Banking Engagement Forum, based at Cambridge University, which aims to create a market for cash products that shun the financing of fossil fuel expansion.
The forum’s stated goal is to pool the finances and influence of British institutions of higher learning to help mitigate climate change. It hired asset manager Amundi Investment Solutions to create the cash fund, which will exclude companies deemed to be contributors to fossil fuel expansion. The fund is slated to open to investors by the end of the year, and according to the announcement, the group expects more seed investors to join before launch.
The fund will exclude fossil fuel companies, utilities, banks, insurers and other companies that contribute to the expansion of fossil fuel markets and usage, according to the group. However, companies filtered out of the list will be able to be included again if they stop their contribution to fossil fuel use.
“This is the first cash fund we know of that will avoid providing liquidity to financial institutions who continue to finance companies that are building new infrastructure, such as coal- and gas-fired power plants, which will lock in fossil fuel combustion for decades,” University of Cambridge Chief Financial Officer Anthony Odgers said in a statement.
The announcement comes amid a surge in investment returns for sustainable funds, which easily outperformed traditional funds during the first half of 2025, posting a median return of 12.5% to traditional funds’ 9.2%, according to research from Morgan Stanley. According to Morgan Stanley, the strong returns were “driven by sustainable funds’ greater exposure to investments in Europe and elsewhere globally.” It also reported that sustainable funds’ assets under management rose 11.5% during the first six months of the year to a record $3.92 trillion.
Morgan Stanley also cited Morningstar data showing that sustainable funds have outperformed traditional funds over a longer period than just the last half-year. According to Morgan Stanley’s report, a $100 investment in a sustainable fund in December 2018 would be worth $154 today, while investing the same amount in a traditional fund would be worth only $145.
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Tags: Amundi, Cambridge University, fossil fuel divestment, Oxford University, sustainable investing