Teosto fund
The fund carrying Teosto’s name was established to ensure the continuity of our mission and cultural promotion activities. The fund allows us to offer financial support to organisations that provide financial assistance and grants for live music events, audiovisual recordings and a wide range of other musical projects.
Teosto Fund was set up in 2009 to secure activities that adhere to our mission and to ensure continuity of music promotion in Finland. The fund supports the activities of Music Finland, Teosto’s member organisations and related foundations, such as the Malmstén Foundation, the Sibelius Fund and the Music Publishers’ Fund. The Teosto Fund also provides the funding for the annual Teosto Prize.
The assets of Teosto Fund
The annual accumulation of the Teosto Fund is based on the so-called national funds, which are retained by Teosto in accordance with agreements with rightholders and foreign copyright organisations. The sale of Teosto’s property, such as the sale of the office building and plot of land in Lauttasaari in 2013, has also contributed to the fund. The value of the assets has increased over the years.
In 2022, the retained share of royalties amounted to 6% of the distribution of performance royalties collected domestically, approximately 3.5 million euros. The private copying credit added 0.9 million euros to the Teosto Fund in 2022.
In 2022, a total of 2.8 million euros was used from the fund, including the Teosto COVID-19 financial support for music composers, lyricists, arrangers, and publishers.
Investment policy
The fund’s investment policy is based on a long-term approach, which will ensure that the Teosto Fund remains resilient against short-term fluctuations of value. In 2022, the accounting return on the fund’s investments was 0.7 million euros (5.0 million in 2021).
Allocating the funds to different investment classes (so-called neutral allocation)
- Direct equity investments 50%
- Interest bearing instruments 0%
- Alternative investments 50%
In practice, the investments are carried out through selected partners and funds. We require asset managers to commit to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment in their investment activities. We also review the performance of our asset managers annually and require active reporting on ESG issues.
Investment Committee of Teosto Fund
The Investment Committee is in charge of the decisions on Teosto Fund. The Chair of the Investment Committee is the CEO of Teosto, Risto Salminen.
Antti Auvinen (1974) has worked as a full-time composer since 2004 and studied composition at Amsterdam and the Sibelius Academy. Since 2014, he has served as the Chairman of the Board of the Finnish Composers’ Association.
Maija Ruuskanen (b. 1976) is a composer, musician and has a Master of Music (MMus) degree from the Sibelius Academy. Ruuskanen has composed music for numerous stage works, directed the Ruuskanen Railio Club and also served as Chairman of the Board of the Music Theater Kapsäkki.
Publisher Tommi Tuomainen (b. 1977), M.Sc. (Econ.), is the CEO of Elements Music Ltd and the chairman of the Finnish Music Publishers Association. He began working in the music industry in the 1990s as BMG’s publisher and financial manager.
