Will UK Pension Funds Become More Responsible? A Survey of Trustees - 2006 Edition

February 2006

Responsible business behaviour is becoming more important for UK pension funds, according to this research from Ashridge, commissioned by Just Pensions. A major cause of this is the belief amongst pension fund trustees that long term shareholder value is impacted by different areas of corporate behaviour. The research, the third report of its kind, was carried out among trustees from 79 UK pension funds in the last quarter of 2005. It explored the extent to which corporate behaviour in a number of areas would impact on the market value of the FTSE 100 in the short (one year) and longer terms (five to ten years).

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An Assessment of SRI Engagement: A Study on Supply Chain Labour Standards

December 2005

Outlines the circumstances in which SRI engagement is most likely to be effective in contributing to corporate change, both generally and specifically on supply chain labour standards issues. It concludes by highlighting key best practice recommendations for fund management houses.

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Just Pensions Responsible Investment Trustee Toolkit - 2005 Edition

April 2005/Sept 2005

This toolkit aims to help UK pension scheme trustees understand more about SRI and how they might integrate SRI into their scheme’s long term investment strategy. The toolkit provides trustees with:

• Best practice first steps for different types of pension scheme;
• Potential next steps; and
• 'How to do it’ guides on SRI, ranging from developing high level policy to fund manager selection and assessment; and
• Supporting documents to download.

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Will UK Pension Funds Become More Responsible? A Survey of Trustees - 2004 Edition

January 2004

Increasing numbers of pension funds are building social and environmental issues into their investment practice, with the trend set to continue strongly in the next few years, according to new research from Ashridge, one of the world’s leading business schools and Just Pensions, part of the UK Social Investment Forum. The report indicates: Social and environmental issues set to hit bottom line; Further public policy required; Companies need to improve reporting and communication; Pension Fund activism will transform investment practices.

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Do UK Charities Invest Responsibly? A Survey of Current Practice

May 2003

Nearly two-thirds of the UK’s largest charities have no written ethical or socially responsible investment policy (60%). A third of those with no policy are planning to address the issue in the next 12 months. This report explores the investment policies and practices of the UK voluntary sector and in particular, the extent to which its funds are invested in a socially responsible or ethical way. A collaboration between Just Pensions, CAF (Charities Aid Foundation), and EIRIS (Ethical Investment Research Service), the report is based on a survey of over 100 of the UK’s largest charities and foundations, together with in-depth interviews with a number of key informants.

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Will UK Pension Funds Become More Responsible? A Survey of Member Nominated Trustees

January 2003

Within the next decade pension funds will transform the performance of companies on a range of social and environmental issues reveals this report, produced in association with Ashridge and the Trades Union Congress. In the survey of over 100 member nominated trustees' of pension funds, less than one in ten believes that companies are providing enough social and environmental information for investment decisions to be analysed. The survey found that trustees believe that social and environmental issues will have a substantial impact on the financial performance of companies over the next five to ten years.

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Do UK Pension Funds Invest Responsibly? A Survey of Current Practice on Socially Responsible Investment

February 2002

This report shows that most UK pension funds are not investing responsibly because they are still failing to take proper account of socially responsible investment (SRI). Many funds have changed their Statements of Investment Principles (SIP) to include social and environmental issues following new requirements in the amendment to the Pensions Act 1995. But the report by David Coles and Duncan Green has revealed that most pension funds have failed to translate these changes into action two years after key changes were made to legislation.

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Assessing Engagement - A Survey of UK practice on Socially Responsible Investment

February 2002

As world leaders prepared for the UN Financing for Development conference (Monterrey, Mexico, 18-22 March 2002), the Just Pensions project published ' Assessing Engagement ', a survey of investment managers on the way that they engage on social responsibility issues with the companies in which they invest.

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The Just Pensions Guide for Trustees and Fund Managers

May 2001

The original Just Pensions publication can be read in its entirety, but its different sections are designed to be read independently by those without the time to take in the full text. Wherever possible, checklists of sample questions are provided as a toolkit to help trustees and fund managers implement social responsibility policies in practice.

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