Engagement Through Partnerships
The objective of the Fund's engagement programme is to improve investor outcomes over the long-term. The majority of the Fund's engagement is conducted through partnerships with like-minded bodies such as the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF), the UK Pension Fund Roundtable or informal groups of investors sharing the same purpose. Where partnerships cannot be utilised, the Fund may choose to engage directly. The Fund's engagement programme spans engagement with companies, fund managers, regulators and other influential bodies.
Company Engagement
The Fund is an active participant in LAPFF with its Director of Pensions being on its Executive Committee as Honorary Treasurer. LAPFF engages with companies on a wide variety of ESG issues, including climate change, remuneration and audit reform, on behalf of the Fund and other members. LAPFF engagement reports are issued on a quarterly basis.
A graphical summary of LAPFF's engagement activities performed on the Fund's behalf can be found below:
Engagement activities - October to December 2018 [326kb]
Engagement activities - July to September 2018 [53kb]
Engagement activities - April to June 2018 [54kb]
Engagement activities - January to March 2018 [54kb]
Engagement activities - October to December 2017 [57kb]
Engagement activities - July to September 2017 [58kb]
Engagement activities - April to June 2017 [56kb]
Engagement activities - January to March 2017 [59kb]
Engagement activities - October to December 2016 [90kb]
Engagement activities - July to September 2016 [205kb]
Engagement activities - April to June 2016 [209kb]
Engagement activities - January to March 2016 [197kb]
Engagement activities - October to December 2015 [284kb]
Engagement activities - July to September 2015 [296kb]
Engagement activities - April to June 2015 [273kb]
Engagement activities - January to March 2015 [265kb]
Engagement activities - October to December 2014 [290kb]
Engagement activities - July to September 2014 [270kb]
Engagement activities - April to June 2014 [839kb]
For climate change engagement, the Fund is a member of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), a forum for collaboration on climate change for European investors. The IIGCC brings investors together to use their significant collective influence to engage in dialogues with policymakers, investors and companies to accelerate the shift to a low carbon economy. In support of this initiative, the Fund signed the Global Investor Statement on Climate Change
Policy Engagement
The Fund believes that engagement with government, regulators and other influential bodies is an effective means of improving RI outcomes at the market level. Accordingly the Fund may enter into dialogue or participate in consultation processes. Policy engagement is also conducted through partnerships including the PRI and LAPFF (for ESG issues) and the IIGCC (for climate change specifically).
The Fund is also a member of the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association and a signatory to the Carbon Disclosure Project.
External Manager Engagement
The Fund believes that it is important that the external fund managers which it employs be transparent and accountable to their asset owner clients regarding their responsible investment policies and activities. The Fund has contributed to and fully endorses the 2015 Guide to Responsible Investment reporting in Public Equity [659kb] as a platform from which to communicate its expectations of fund managers. As part of the performance reviews of external fund managers, the Fund monitors the implementation of the manager's ESG policies and procedures.
Details regarding the responsible investment policies and activities of our external fund managers of listed equity (where applicable) by mandate are provided below:
Global Equity
Emerging Markets
