Säätiön sijoitustoiminta
Avainsanat:
säätiöoikeus, sijoitustoiminta, business judgement ruleAbstrakti
Foundations as investors
Although most Finnish foundations are small, some of them are significant institutional investors. Prudent asset management by such foundations is important for the whole society since they are heavily involved in philanthropy. The article examines the regulatory requirements for the asset management of a Finnish foundation.
The asset management of a foundation is regulated in the new Foundations Act, which entered into force in 2015. Under the Act, the assets of a foundation are to be managed in a planned way. Also other general principles apply for the asset management of a Foundation. The board of a foundation must act with due care and promote the interests of the foundation. These regulatory requirements are vague and it is essentially impossible to draw detailed conclusions on the basis of the letter of the law.
The requirements for the asset management of a foundation are described in greater detail in the preparatory works of the new legislation. According to the government bill, a foundation’s asset management must conform to the same standards as other institutional investors of the same size. This means, among other things, diversification of the investments of the foundation. When defining the practical implications of the due care requirement, attention must be paid to the theory of finance. To be prudent, a foundation needs to have an investment strategy that can be justified in the light of the theory of finance.
Prior to the new Foundations Act, it was often held in the Finnish legal doctrine that foundations should be risk averse. Under the new legislation, there is no longer any support for such arguments.
