HBOS plc Final Salary Pension Scheme: recommendations

From the information provided it appears that the HBOS Pension Scheme has an underlying commitment to responsible investment, but has not yet fully translated this into detailed policy, implementation, monitoring or transparency. Our recommendations would include:

RI policy, implementation and monitoring

• Adoption of a detailed voting policy with regard to ESG issues
• Identification of specific ESG risks and opportunities for incorporation into research and investment decisions.
• The use of internal and/or external dedicated resources to undertake ESG engagement on behalf of the scheme.
• Consideration of membership of the UN PRI, and its use as a screen in fund manager selection.

Transparency

Given that transparency is fundamental to responsible investment, we recommend that the Scheme creates a public website, which would include disclosure of:

• The Statement of Investment Principles
• Detailed statements of RI policy, policy implementation and performance monitoring
• Full voting records and summary voting analysis
• Specific and detailed ESG engagement strategy, and reporting
• The Scheme's annual reports, which should include a detailed section on responsible investment.

Download HBOS plc Final Salary Pension Scheme's full scoresheet

If you are a member of this pension scheme, why not email your pension scheme to ask whether they have implemented all or any of these recommendations.