Pension fund trustees
FairPensions works with pension fund trustees and individual members of pension funds to promote responsible investment.
Please note that the contents of this website do not constitute financial or legal advice and FairPensions does not promote or endorse any third party investment, financial service, company or any other third party product or service.
Responsible Investment Best Practice Guide for Trustees
This guide explains why Responsible Investment has become a fiduciary duty, and condenses a variety of sources from legal and industry bodies and the Myners Principles into an easily digestible two-page document.
The guide also sets out the basic steps necessary to ensure compliance with best practice on Responsible Investment.
Although the document focuses on the duties of trustees with regard to Responsible Investment, it should also be noted that there are significant advantages for pension funds which adopt best practice:
- Enhanced monitoring of environmental, social and governance factors can be used to increase returns and lower portfolio risk (see research for more details).
- Responsible Investment entails better transparency for fund members and can therefore result in improved members' perception of, and relationship with, their pension fund.
- Lowers the risk of legal challenges to the parent company for breach of fiduciary duty (see the guide for more information)
To download the Best Practice Guide click here
How we work with trustees
FairPensions supports trustees by providing research on responsible investment and guidance on best practice. We also provide support by sharing resources and contacts. If you're a trustee and would like to contact us, please click here. Read more about FairPensions here.
The duties of trustees
FairPensions believe pension fund trustees have a role to play in ensuring that investee companies are good investments and socially responsible. This is prudent and financially sound: ensuring responsible practice helps safeguard investment value in the long term. It is also the right thing to do. As institutional investors, pension funds should use their considerable power to tackle corporate behaviour that puts people, the environment and our futures at risk.
There are a number of ways trustees can ensure their pension fund invests responsibly. They can:
- be transparent about their investment policy and pactice e.g. disclosing the top 100 investments and engagement outcomes
- allocate resources to implement and monitor responsible investment
- consult members regularly e.g. through surveys.
"Pension trustees have a clear, legal responsibility towards their members and beneficiaries. Taking a long term view about investing in successful companies and considering areas of long term risk like climate change is an important part of fulfilling this role."
(National Association of Pension Fund (NAPF) chief executive, Christine Farnish)
Resources for trustees
FairPensions Best Practice Guide for Trustees, download here
See a full list of useful resources on responsible investment here