Cambridge MP Julian Huppert on Ethical and Infrastructure Investment
Channel: RTaylorUK
Date: 23/04/2012

Cambridge MP Julian Huppert submitted a question to DWP ministers asking:

"What steps he is taking to ensure that pension funds adopt ethical and infrastructure investments."

Reply: "Pension scheme trustees can consider companies' environmental, social and governmental practices and I am clear trustees' duties do not require them simply to maximise short term investment returns. 

On infrastructure the Autumn statement set out details of a MoU set out by signed by the UK Government with two groups of pension funds to set our additional investment in UK infrastructure. "

Huppert: "I thank the minister very much for his comments. 

He'll be aware of the whole range of investments out there which give more than just short term financial return. The Cambridge Retrofit programme ( http://www.cambridgeretrofit.org ) for example launched last week trying to retrofit every building in Cambridge by 2050. How will he make sure however that trustees are aware  that their fiduciary duties do not prevent them from doing this. How will he communicate with them because many of them do seem to be unaware of this. 

Minister: "I'm grateful. The pensions regulator communicates regularly with trustees and provides a trustee toolkit on his website setting our their duties. But I do think that auto-enrollment provides an opportunity for ethical investment for example NEST the national employment savings trust will specifically have an ethical fund for those who wish to invest in that way and I hope that his schemes will seek to find investment through that sort of route.