The chief responsible investment officer at Brunel Pension Partnership is to convene a meeting with major pension fund managers to discuss the soon-to-end proxy voting season.
In a letter issued to Brunel’s asset managers, Faith Ward highlighted that the meeting is intended to be a “constructive dialogue” to support UK asset owners and to ensure that their needs are effectively understood by managers.
She said: “As a member of the UK Asset Owner Roundtable, we are concerned at a perceived misalignment between our long-term interests and how investment managers are exercising proxy voting at key annual general meetings of European oil and gas majors.”
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Asset owners are worried that despite warnings from the United Nations and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the risks of delayed action on climate change, short-term interests are trumping the long-term interests of pension funds, Ward stated.
“Delayed action on climate increases the chances of disorderly climate transition and missing the goals of the Paris Agreement. This in turn increases the risk to pension funds’ long-term interests and the ability of those funds to serve the interests of their members/beneficiaries,” she said.
Ward also wrote that following the proxy season, Brunel will be commissioning a review of how asset owners’ long-term interests have been served by their managers when exercising their stewardship duties.
“We will be particularly focusing on how managers have voted at key annual general meetings in Europe as proof points for our understanding of your approach and our needs,” Ward added.
No further details about the upcoming meeting have been revealed at this stage.
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