What attracted you to apply to the Endowments Investing Challenge?
The UK is facing a housing crisis. Millions of people cannot access a safe, affordable home, and around 200,000 children are currently homeless or growing up in temporary accommodation. This is a long‑term societal challenge with profound consequences for health, education and opportunity across generations.
At Octopus, we are trying to help solve this. Through our £500m Affordable Housing Fund, we have shown that affordable housing is an investable asset class capable of delivering long‑term, index‑linked income and resilient returns while directly addressing a critical social need. We believe this demonstrates how finance can be productive, generating returns while tackling real‑world problems.
However, demand continues to far outstrip supply. Long‑term capital has an important role to play in scaling solutions that are durable, responsible and genuinely aligned with the needs of future generations. We are increasingly seeing endowments and charitable organisations seek closer alignment between their investments and their charitable objectives. Affordable housing is particularly well suited to this ambition, combining capital preservation and long‑dated income with clear, measurable impact.
The Endowments Investing Challenge appealed to us because it creates space for a thoughtful conversation about how capital is deployed in the interests of future generations. In particular, the involvement of the Future Generations Panel reflects our belief that those who will live with the long‑term consequences of today’s investment decisions should have a voice in shaping them.
Tell us the changes you're most proud of in your organisation that move you towards being more sustainable, inclusive and responsible for a better future for all.
At Octopus, we believe long‑term performance and responsible behaviour are inseparable. This belief underpinned our decision to become one of the UK’s first financial services companies to achieve B Corp certification, embedding consideration of customers, communities and future generations into decision‑making across the business.
We have also taken practical steps to make the industry more inclusive. Through our partnership with Regeneration Brainery, we support young people from a wide range of backgrounds into paid internships and clear pathways into permanent roles, broadening access to decision‑making positions in finance.
Within our Affordable Housing platform, the most significant change has been taking greater responsibility for outcomes. By establishing and owning our own registered provider, NewArch Homes, we have brought governance, compliance, service quality and long‑term stewardship closer to the investment decision. This reduces reliance on third‑party structures and strengthens accountability for resident outcomes.
Operationally, we take a hands‑on approach with managing agents and housing partners, focused on delivering consistently high standards of customer service. By using better data, clearer performance expectations and earlier intervention, we are able to address issues quickly, protect asset quality and ensure residents receive a reliable and responsive service. Strong customer outcomes are central to good stewardship, reducing operational and reputational risk, supporting stable income and reinforcing the long‑term sustainability of the Fund.
Looking ahead, we are developing a wellbeing and governance framework shaped with residents themselves, giving them a stronger voice in decisions that affect their homes and communities. A home should be a foundation for stability, health and opportunity, and we remain committed to continually raising the bar.
What opportunities do you see to invest in impact on future generations?
Investing in affordable housing is one of the most direct ways to improve outcomes for future generations. A secure, affordable home underpins almost every life outcome, particularly for children, with stability closely linked to educational attainment, health and long‑term life chances.
This is reflected in how we invest. 90% of our homes are family housing, deliberately located close to schools, transport links and local amenities. Reducing overcrowding and minimising disruptive moves helps children attend school consistently, build routines and participate fully in education.
Public sector analysis reinforces this impact. Homes England has shown that housing investment can generate significant social value for every pound spent, reflecting improved wellbeing, productivity and reduced pressure on public services. Housing is therefore both a social good and an effective deployment of long‑term capital.
Looking ahead, we see further opportunity through long‑term stewardship and innovation. Investing in energy‑efficient homes, including Zero Bills housing, can reduce household costs and improve comfort benefits that compound over time and are particularly meaningful for lower‑income families.
Impact also extends beyond the physical home. Improving service standards, strengthening resident engagement and supporting financial capability helps families build resilience and independence. For patient, mission‑aligned capital, affordable housing offers a powerful opportunity to deliver durable returns while addressing one of the most important determinants of opportunity for future generations.
What have you learnt through this process?
This process has reinforced our belief that affordable housing is not simply an alternative asset class, but a powerful long‑term lever for improving outcomes across society. Engaging through the Endowments Investing Challenge has sharpened our thinking around the breadth and durability of the impact that stable, well‑designed housing can deliver.
We have been reminded that the real value of housing investment lies in stewardship as much as delivery. Energy efficiency, service quality, governance and resident voice all shape whether homes genuinely support wellbeing, educational opportunity and long‑term independence.
The process has also highlighted the importance of transparency and dialogue. Hearing the perspectives of young people challenges asset owners to think beyond traditional risk and return metrics and consider how today’s decisions shape opportunity decades into the future.
Ultimately, the Challenge has reinforced our view that long‑term, mission‑aligned capital can be both disciplined and transformative. We are encouraged by the growing engagement from endowments and see this as an opportunity to continue evolving our approach, ensuring investment performance and positive impact remain mutually reinforcing for the generations that follow.
What question would you like to ask the Future Generations Panel?
We would like to ask the Future Generations Panel: How does panel believe affordable housing should be leveraged as a foundation to unlock the wider priorities they have identified for future generations?
Response from the Future Generations Panel:
As a panel, we identified several priorities for how this investment could create positive long-term impact, including sustainable development, recovery of communities affected by conflict or genocide, racial justice and disability equity, cooperatives, community ownership, renewable energy infrastructure, and affordable housing.
Getting the basics right for everyone would be a starting point to positive change, and affordable homes are a part of that: an anchor while people move towards stability in other areas of their lives.
Having a home that is affordable (and even better, sustainable) would improve so many lives. Fair rent would reduce the stress of meeting sky-high costs every month. Solar panels or well-insulated homes would mean lower bills. In turn, this would lead to better health and wellbeing. Scaled to a community or city level, this can start to have a significant positive impact.