In its Report on amendments to Statute F, III (Property, buildings, and loans) and Statute J (University Press) (Reporter, p. 145), the Council proposed that the current rules governing the Cambridge University Endowment Fund (CUEF) be removed from Statute F, III and that provisions for the collective investment of University property, with or without any other property, be enacted by Ordinance and that the future operation of the CUEF would be addressed in this way. The Council further stated that it would prepare Ordinances dealing as necessary with arrangements for the delegated exercise of the University's financial powers, as well as in relation to collective investment, for submission to the Regent House in time to enable such Ordinances to take effect upon the approval of the new Statutes by Her Majesty in Council.
Following the approval by the Regent House of the recommendations in paragraph 17 of the Report (Grace 7 of 3 December 2008), the proposed new Statutes have been sealed and submitted to Her Majesty in Council and are expected to receive approval in June 2009.
The Council is accordingly now submitting a Grace (Grace 4, p. 779) to the Regent House for the approval of the amendments to the regulations on Financial Matters (Chapter XIII of the University's Ordinances (Finance and Property), Statutes and Ordinances, pp. 941ff), which are set out in the Appendix to this Notice.
These proposed amendments to Ordinances effectively repeat the wording of Statute F, III, 6 which will no longer appear in the new Statute F, III, and are intended to enable the CUEF to continue in its current form once the new Statutes come into force.
They also incorporate the restriction on granting security which is currently contained in Statute F, III, 5 (see footnote 3 to the Report), although without the exception (which is covered by Regulation 9 of the relevant regulations) and without the reference to the Universities and College Estates Act 1925 (which is regarded as superfluous).
In addition, the opportunity is taken to remove Regulation 5(c) from the relevant regulations on the grounds that it has become redundant, the references to College catering in the Statutes having been removed previously.
The Council are currently obtaining legal advice regarding the proposed wider participation in the CUEF which was mentioned at paragraph 10 of their Report. This is likely to necessitate further amendment to Ordinances in due course.
Regulation 5(c).
By rescinding this regulation.
Regulation 6.
By replacing the reference to Regulation 9 in the second line by reference to Regulations 9 and 10, and by adding a new paragraph (e) so as to read:
| (e) | approval by Grace of the Regent House shall be required for the grant of security for any loan, and the terms of any loan so secured shall provide for the repayment of the loan within fifty years or less either by annual instalment or otherwise. |
Regulation 10.
By inserting a new Regulation 10 so as to read:
10. In order to facilitate the management of investments under the control of the University the Council may at any time and from time to time resolve that all or any part of the endowments or other funds of the University and of the funds of any specific trust for purposes connected with the University of which the University is trustee (hereinafter called the constituent funds) be treated as one amalgamated fund invested for the rateable benefit of the constituent funds and to and upon any such resolution the following provisions shall apply:
| (a) | an investment shall not be brought into an amalgamated fund upon its first constitution or upon any change of investment unless it is an authorized investment for all the constituent funds; |
| (b) | an amalgamated fund shall be held on behalf of the constituent funds in shares as nearly as may conveniently be proportionate to their respective capital values upon the first constitution of the amalgamated fund; such shares shall be fixed by resolution of the Council on the recommendation of the Finance Committee of the Council; |
| (c) | the Council, on the recommendation of the Finance Committee of the Council, may at any time increase any amalgamated fund by adding thereto new constituent funds and upon any such increase shall fix the share of such new constituent funds in the resulting amalgamated fund; |
| (d) | the Council may at any time wind up any amalgamated fund and divide the investments thereof between the constituent funds in proportion to their respective shares therein or may bring all or any of the shares into a new or other amalgamated fund in accordance with the provisions of this regulation; |
| (e) | the Council may appropriate and distribute for expenditure as much of the fair value of any amalgamated fund as prescribed by Ordinance as it considers in its absolute discretion is prudent having regard to the total return achieved and reasonably to be expected in the long term of the amalgamated fund and distribute in proportion to the constituent funds at the time of the distribution. |