Investment Sections
Statement of Investment Principles
Pension funds are required to prepare and maintain a written "Statement of Investment Principles" (SIP) that sets out the decisions that have been taken on a fund's investment policies.
The SIP is intended to provide evidence that trustees have considered the suitability of their fund's investment policy and the approach to implementing the policy.
The regulations that govern the Local Government Pension Scheme require our SIP to cover the policy on the following areas:
- the type of investments to be held
- the balance between different types of investments
- risk
- the expected returns on investments
- the realisation of investments
- the extent (if at all) to which social, environmental or ethical considerations are taken into account in the selection, retention and realisation of investments
- the exercise of the rights (including voting rights) attaching to investments
The current SIP was adopted from 5th June 2007.
View the
Pension Fund's Statement of Investment Principles. (PDF Doc - 182.42 KB)
Socially Responsible Investment - The Exercise
of Voting Rights and Corporate Governance
The Pension Fund's Statement of Investment Principles covers the extent to which social, environmental or ethical considerations are taken into account in the selection, retention and realisation of investments. This requirement is known as Socially Responsible Investment (SRI).
The policy on SRI requires that each manager must:
- develop and co-ordinate policies on SRI, corporate governance and voting.
- when buying and selling investments, take into account how SRI factors might affect their value
- for each company in which they invest, review that company's approach to social, environmental, and ethical actors and where necessary, approach company management to seek improvements.
The Pension Fund's policy on SRI is formally reviewed and approved on an annual basis. The current SRI policy was adopted by Pensions Committee on 5th June 2007.
View the Socially Responsible Investment Policy. (PDF Doc - 126.29KB)
SRI is an important issue and the Pensions Committee takes its responsibility in this area very seriously. Investment managers are required to report on the implementation of this policy in their quarterly performance report and it is on the agenda for meetings with investment managers.