LPFA sign up to the Occupational Pensions Stewardship Council
LPFA, together with twenty-seven other pension schemes with around £550bn combined assets under management, have signed up to the Occupational Pensions Stewardship Council launched by the government on 7th July 2021.
Set up by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Occupational Pensions Stewardship Council aims to provide a platform for sharing best practice and research to support pension schemes boost stewardship and make more thoughtful, responsible investments. The council highlights shareholder resolutions, climate change and corporate governance as three key stewardship activities which pension schemes may be able to play a more influential role in.
Robert Branagh, LPFA CEO said: “we are pleased to be an inaugural member of the Occupational Pensions Stewardship Council which aims to promote and facilitate high standards of stewardship of pension assets. This an important initiative for the pension industry which will undoubtably improve pension schemes and asset managers’ engagement and stewardship activities.”
The full list of council members:
BAE Systems Pension Scheme, BBC Pension Trust Ltd, Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, Brunel Pension Partnership, BT Pension Scheme, Church of England Funded Pension Scheme, Creative Pension Trust, Crystal, Cushon Master Trust, HSBC Bank Pension Trust (UK) Limited, LGPS Central, London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA), Lothian Pension Fund, Nationwide Pension Fund (Nationwide section), NatWest Group Pension Fund, NEST Corporation, Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC), NOW: Pensions, RPMI Railpen, Reed Elsevier Pension Scheme, Scottish Widows, Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London (SAUL), The Co-operative Pension Scheme (PACE), Shell (Royal Dutch Shell) Contributory Pension Fund, Smart Pension, Tesco Plc Pension Scheme, TPT, USS.
Note to Editors
Contacts:
Tannaz Rastegar: 0204 566 6529, tannaz.rastegar@lpfa.org.uk
About OPSC
The OPSC comes out of Recommendation 16 of Investing with Purpose, which suggested that a “dedicated council of UK pension schemes should be established to promote and facilitate high standards of stewardship of pension assets.” Coordinated by DWP, in partnership with MHCLG and supported by FRC, the Council is open to all UK occupational pension schemes, the Local Government Pension Scheme, pools, in-house investment teams, and at least initially not including those schemes which are open to multiple unconnected employers that are also being sponsored by firms who sell investment management services to other schemes. This facilitates the open sharing of best practice and collaborative engagement activity. The Council aims to be for everyone but is particularly aimed at schemes and pools looking to build capability on stewardship. We also welcome pension scheme/pool practitioners who are willing to share their expertise (though not to sell particular products), for whom it can also be a forum to participate in collaborative engagement.
About the LPFA
The LPFA is a defined-benefit Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with over 90,000 members, 135 contributing employers and, as at 31 March 2021, £6.8 billion of assets under management. LPFA and Lancashire County Council are each 50% shareholders of the Local Pensions Partnership Ltd (LPP), a pensions service provider for LGPS and other public sector pension funds. The LPFA’s investment assets are pooled via LPP together with those of the Lancashire County Pension Fund and the Royal County of Berkshire Pension Fund.
Please note:
This press release has been prepared to inform the external media of certain information regarding London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA), the Local Pensions Partnership Ltd (LPP) and its subsidiaries, Local Pensions Partnership Investments Ltd (LPPI) and Local Pensions Partnership Administration Ltd (LPPA), subject to the following disclaimer.
LPFA does not provide advice on legal, taxation or investment matters and no statements information or data published by or otherwise made available to the public by the LPFA whether directly or indirectly and in any form (including written, oral or electronic/digital) should be relied upon for any purpose including (but not limited to) investment decisions. No other person or entity may rely or make decisions based on the content of this press release, whether they receive it with or without LPFA’s consent, and this disclaimer is repeated fully in respect of any such third party. This press release may contain ‘forward-looking statements’ with respect to certain plans and current goals and expectations relating to LPFA’s future financial condition, performance results, strategic initiatives and objectives. By their nature, all forward-looking statements are inherently predictive and speculative and involve known and unknown risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances which are beyond LPFA’s control. Any projections or opinions expressed are current as of the date hereof only and subject to this disclaimer. Without limitation to the aforesaid, this press release and its contents is provided ‘as is’ without any representation or warranty (express or implied), and no member of the LPFA nor any of their respective directors, officers and employees shall be held liable howsoever to any person or entity, as to the appropriateness, accuracy or completeness of the information provided herein.