The university’s activities are mainly financed by core funding awarded by the Ministry of Education and Culture, which accounts for approximately 60% of the university’s funding. Other sources of funding for the university include return from grants, business activities and investment activities, as well as donated assets and return on payments. The management of the university’s finances aims at a balance between income and expenditure. Most of the university’s assets are invested in securities. The purpose of investment activities is to generate annual funding for the university’s core activities.
266,8
Net revenue, M€ (2023)
-8,8
Operating profit, M€ (2023)
187,8
Investment asset value, M€ (31 Dec. 2023)
Responsible investment activities
The purpose of the university’s investment activities is to generate funding for the university’s core activities, strengthen the university’s financial position, and support the achievement of the university’s strategic objectives. The university manages its assets carefully, and clear roles and principles have been agreed for investment activities. As a shareholder, the University of Eastern Finland seeks, through its investments, to promote responsible business activities and, as a result, positive social impacts through the capital it offers.
The university’s investment activities are guided by responsible values. According to the investment principles of the University of Eastern Finland, taking responsibility into account in investment activities is a prerequisite for long-term value creation. The objective of investment activities is primarily to retain the capital invested, while on the other hand also increasing the capital and generating return on capital that can be used for university’s activities in the long term. Return on capital is sought without the invested assets being exposed to a higher risk than deemed appropriate by the university's Board.
The Board oversees the university’s investment activities by, e.g., confirming an annual investment plan. In addition, the Board has confirmed the university’s principles for responsible investment. The university uses discretionary asset management services to manage its investments. Asset managers are committed to observing the agreed principles and they regularly report to the university’s leadership and Board on the achievement of the financial and responsibility objectives. The Chief Financial Officer is responsible for the implementation of investment activities in accordance with the investment plan approved by the Board, and for the preparation and development of the investment plan.
Principles of responsible investment
The University of Eastern Finland relies on the principles of responsible investment supported by the UN (Principles for Responsible Investment, PRI), which take into account factors related to environmental and social responsibility, and good governance, ESG. The University of Eastern Finland takes the ESG factors into account in its investment guidelines, processes, practices, and investment-related decision-making.
Asset managers are expected to be active in promoting issues related to responsibility, in the activities of the investment objects, and in their commitment to responsible practices. In practice, this is manifested, inter alia, by the following:
- Asset managers have signed the UN’s principles of responsible investment.
- Asset managers have separate written guidelines on responsible investments and a policy to follow, which corresponds to the principles of responsibility of the University of Eastern Finland.
- Asset managers are required to monitor the development of the market for responsible investment and commit themselves to continuous development of their own practices.
- Asset managers must act as active shareholders and seek to influence the invested companies so that they commit themselves to responsible practices.
- When selecting investment products, products that take responsibility into account in their investment activities are primarily used.
- Asset managers regularly report on how responsibility has been exercised in practical investment activities, such as in the selection of investment objects and how they have been influenced. A report on responsibility is given to the Board at least twice a year.
- The carbon footprint of the university’s portfolio must be declining in the long term. A report on the carbon footprint and its development is given to the Board at least once a year.
Assets in funds
The majority of the university's investment assets consists of the university's basic capital and other spare capital. In addition, the university has funded substantial donated assets for long-term use. Funding of assets and returns on investment activities enable greater contributions to the purpose of the fund than the original capital.
The funds include both permanent capital funds where the fund’s returns are permanently used for a specific purpose while retaining the original capital of the fund, as well as depreciation and private capital funds where, in addition to returns on investment, the original capital is also used over a certain period of time. The planned time of use of the assets is taken into account in the investment plan. Separate accounts are kept on the returns and use of the assets in funds, and they are used for a separately agreed purpose in accordance with the rules of the fund. A list of the funds can be found below.
- Business School (network activities)
- Department of Neurosciences and Neurology Fund (research fund)
- Savon Sanomat Fund (doctoral dissertation award)
- Forest Use and Forest Technology Fund (education and research)
- Karelian Culture Research Fund (professorship in cultural research)
- Musicology Fund (education and research)
- Matti and Vappu Maukonen Fund (research fund)
- Mauri and Sirkka Wiljasalo Fund (research fund)
- Scholarship Fund of the Teacher Training School on the Joensuu Campus of the University of Eastern Finland (teaching)
- Marja-Terttu Korhonen Fund (research fund)
- Eino Räisänen Fund (research fund)
- Nunnanlahden Uuni Ltd. Fund (fixed-term professorship)
- Kettunen fund (research fund)
- Räty fund (research fund)
- Savonlinna Continuing Education Fund (continuing education)
- Enterprise Economics Fund (education and research)
- Orthodox Theology Fund (education and research)
- Endowed Professorship in Marketing Fund (professorship in marketing)
- Professorship in Civil Law Fund (professorship in civil law)
- Agnes and Taavi Lehtinen Fund (education and research)
- Teollisuusneuvos Heikki Väänänen Fund (research fund)
- Erkko Mönkkönen Fund (education and research)
- Apothecary Esko Laukala and Pharmacist Eeva Kehus-Laukala Fund (research fund)
- Helvi Jäntti Fund (education and research)
- Joensuu University Commemorative Fund (doctoral dissertation award)
- Ida Kokkonen and Walter Hill Memorial Student Fund (student grant)
- Fund for raising private capital to support the general activities of the University of Eastern Finland (education and research)
- Fund for raising private capital to support the field of the humanities (education and research)
- Fund for raising private capital to support the field of business and economics (education and research)
- Fund for raising private capital to support the field of natural sciences (education and research)
- Fund for raising private capital to support the field of medicine and pharmacy (education and research)
- Fund for raising private capital to support the field of agriculture and forestry (education and research)
- Fund for raising private capital to support the field of law (education and research)
- Fund for raising private capital to support the field of health sciences (education and research)