The Church of England’s £7 billion investment fund put out its annual report on May 16 to a slew of negative headlines on tax avoidance because it invests in Google. But those headlines eclipsed the warning bells the Church fund is sounding on markets – and the steps it is taking for crash avoidance.

The Church Commissioners fund is one of the biggest charitable endowment investment funds in the UK, and has a good performance record for a large institution. It has made 8% a year, on average, over the past decade - well ahead of inflation, in line with its target, and comfortably ahead of the average large investment fund, which has made 6.2% a year, according to performance analyst WM Company.