Investors
March 01 2004
by Briefing staffEthical pensions
Four-fifths of consumers who invest in financial services products believe that employers should offer an ethical investment option within occupational pension schemes, according to research from Just Pensions, a programme led by the UK Social Investment Forum. Its recent report, Will UK Pension Funds Become More Responsible? A Survey of Trustees - 2004 edition, recommends firstly that all defined contribution pension scheme members should be able to reflect their values in their pension investments. It also calls for SRI requirements that apply to stakeholder pension schemes to be extended to all retail investment products. Of those pension fund trustees interviewed, the survey also finds that:
- two-fifths (42%) believe good corporate governance will have a substantial positive impact on the market value of the FTSE 100 over the next decade;
- half do not have procedures for taking social, ethical and environmental factors into account when hiring fund managers;
- nearly three-fifths (56%) would be in favour of legislation forcing them to implement ethical policies.
Contact Meg Brown, Just Pensions, on 020 7440 9712 (http://www.justpensions.org)
Values and value
Mainstream investors currently express little interest in CSR, according a survey by World Economic Forum into the opinions of CEOs, CFOs and investment relations officers in 26 global companies. The research, published on January 8, finds that two-thirds of companies field CSR-related questions from mainstream investors "only occasionally", and then only around crisis situations or 'hot topics' such as climate change, diversity, obesity and HIV/AIDS.
The Values and Value report suggests four rules for business leaders to communicate the importance of CSR to investors: frame corporate purpose and values with clarity; emphasise social contribution of core business; present a credible and measurable business case for CSR; and ensure consistency and coherence of message. Contact Caroline Bergrem, WEF, on 00 41 22 869 1212 (http://www.weforum.org)
Staffing up
More than three-fifths of 108 top European companies have encountered higher levels of shareholder activism in the past year, according to a survey by investor relations consultancy WILink, published in IR magazine investor relations handbook in January. As a consequence, companies are putting larger amounts of money into their investor relations departments, partly also to help comply with new regulations introduced in the revised Combined code of corporate governance which mandates companies to explain how they select directors, how the board is evaluated, the number of board meetings and who attended them. Contact Nigel Leggatt, WILink, on 020 8974 0219 (http://www.wilink.com)
In brief
Charities have seen the value of their equity investments fall by more than £3.27bn over the past two years, a study by Close Wealth Management shows - equivalent to around £136m a month. Contact Martin Smith, Close Wealth Management, on 0845 603 5678 (http://www.closewealth.co.uk)
It pays to be good
The Friends Provident Stewardship Pensions Fund has grown by 18.25 points over the past twelve months as compared with an average growth of 12.96 points for UK companies, while its Life Fund has grown 18.79 points as compared with an average of 11.32. The two original ethical Stewardship Funds from Friends Provident, launched in 1984, have shown healthy returns over the last 6 and 12 months and 5-year periods, indicating that it is possible to make a decent profit on ethical investments and making the case for the Stewardship ethos that responsible business practices and success go hand in hand. Contact Julia Dreblow, Friends Provident, on 020 7506 1407(http://www.friendsprovident.com)