Chris Cummings elected chair of the Just Finance Foundation
Chris Cummings, Chief Executive of the Investment Association (IA), has today been appointed Chair of the Just Finance Foundation (JFF), a national charity dedicated to improving financial education so that every child and family has equal opportunity to thrive. Chris has been a committed Trustee of JFF since 2022 and is well placed to lead the organisation in this new role.
Just Finance Foundation’s mission is to equip the people who families trust with the confidence, knowledge and inspiration to educate the next generation and build financially capable communities. Research shows that children start to learn essential money habits as early as age 3 to 7. However, financial education is rarely taught until secondary school. JFF works directly with schools, families and communities across the country to address these gaps and give every child an equal baseline understanding of money. The programmes are designed by education experts to up-skill teachers, engage children and provide the essential foundation they need to become adults with the knowledge, skills and values to manage money wisely.
Chris Cummings, Chief Executive of the Investment Association, said:
“I am extremely proud to take on the role of Chair of the Just Finance Foundation, which creates the building blocks for financial success in childhood through their educational programme and engagement with families, schools and communities across the UK.
“Financial literacy has never been more important than it is today, and I look forward to working with the Just Finance Foundation to drive forward our shared agenda to make sure more people in the UK have equal access to financial knowledge, building financial resilience that lasts well into the future.”
Sarah Wallace, Programme Director at the Just Finance Foundation, said:
“Chris is a passionate and successful advocate of financial education and I’m thrilled to welcome him as JFF’s new Board Chair. Chris brings a wealth of skills and experience at a time when our work to improve financial education from a young age is more important than ever. I’m excited to move forward together and achieve our ambitious goals.
“At the same time, I’m so grateful to Sir Douglas Flint who has served as JFF’s Chair for 6 years. Douglas played a key role in shaping JFF’s future success and I thank him both personally and on behalf of all the teachers and children who will benefit from our financial education programme.”
Chris Cummings replaces Sir Douglas Flint as Chair of the Just Finance Foundation. The Just Finance Foundation Board Chair appointment is for a 5-year term.
Notes to Editors:
For further information, please contact:
Helen Ayres, Head of Communications: helen.ayres@theia.org
T: +44 (0)20 7269 4620
Arianna Schardt, Communications Executive: arianna.schardt@theia.org
T: +44 (0)20 7269 4625
IA Press Office: press@theia.org
About the Investment Association (IA):
The IA champions UK investment management, supporting British savers, investors and businesses. Our 250 members manage £10 trillion of assets and the investment management industry supports 122,000 jobs across the UK.
Our mission is to make investment better. Better for clients, so they achieve their financial goals. Better for companies, so they get the capital they need to grow. And better for the economy, so everyone prospers.
Our purpose is to ensure investment managers are in the best possible position to:
Build people’s resilience to financial adversity
Help people achieve their financial aspirations
Enable people to maintain a decent standard of living as they grow older
Contribute to economic growth through the efficient allocation of capital
The money our members manage is in a wide variety of investment vehicles including authorised investment funds, pension funds and stocks and shares ISAs
The UK is the second largest investment management centre in the world, after the US and manages 37% of all assets managed in Europe.
About the Just Finance Foundation (JFF):
JFF resources, developed by teachers for teachers, train and equip them with the information, strategies and understanding they need to embed financial education within the existing curriculum. Lesson plans and practical activities are flexible and easily adapted by teachers for children of every ability and all backgrounds.
JFF has already served 59,103 children in mainstream schools, pupil referral units and schools catering to children with specialist educational needs and intends to reach 10% of all primary schools by 2025.
The Most Reverend Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, is the President of JFF. JFF’s origins result from a task force commissioned by the Archbishop on responsible savings and credit, and to develop and implement his continuing vision of creating a fairer and more just financial system.
JFF is an autonomous subsidiary charity of the Church Urban Fund www.cuf.org.uk
For more information about joining the Group, please contact Sarah Wallace, Director of Programmes at JFF sarah.wallace@jff.org.uk.
To request that JFF contact your school to discuss the programme, please contact enquiries@jff.org.uk.