Wellcome Trust announces 2012/13 annual results

The Wellcome Trust is pleased to report a total return of 18 per cent for the year to 30 September 2013, equating to £2.6 billion on an investment portfolio value of £14.5 billion at the start of the year. Expenditure in support of our mission rose to £656 million, and the investment base rose to £16.4 billion. 

We have returned a total of £7 billion (57 per cent cumulative, 9 per cent annualised) in the five years since the start of the global financial crisis in September 2008, recording positive returns in each of the five years. Returns have been 153 per cent cumulative (10 per cent annualised) over ten years and 551 per cent cumulative (10 per cent annualised) over 20 years.

Since the inception of our investment portfolio in 1985, it has provided a total return averaging almost 14 per cent a year. We maintain a AAA/Aaa (stable) credit rating.

We have again enjoyed positive returns from each major element of the portfolio (public equities, private equities, venture capital, hedge funds and property) over one, three, five and ten years.

Sir William Castell, Chairman of the Trust, said: "I am very pleased to report strong investment performance numbers again this year, which vindicates our long-term investment strategy. This has enabled us to increase the level of our charitable payments to be almost 40 per cent higher than in 2006/07, before the global financial crisis began."

Danny Truell, CIO of the Trust, added: "Our internal investment team and external investment partners across the board again added significant value, enabling us to perform better than global stock markets with considerably lower volatility.

"It will be a stretch to continue to achieve returns of 10 per cent a year over the next decade, but the businesses and partnerships in which we have invested for the long term generally continue to reinforce their franchises."