Published
29th June 2023
29th June 2023
We know that investing in a responsible manner is extremely important to many of our scheme members and stakeholders, and Essex Pension Fund shares your concerns on these issues.
The Fund’s Investment Strategy Statement (ISS) details how we make investment decisions, what our key investment objectives and priorities are and how we monitor the effectiveness of our policies. To ensure that the ISS is kept up to date, it is thoroughly reviewed every three years, and as part of our current review, we want to hear from you.
What has changed?
Since our last stakeholder consultation on our ISS in 2020, Essex Pension Fund have made the commitment to being Net Zero by 2050 and as a result has introduced a range of new initiatives including the implementation of our de-risking programme, and the adoption of both our Responsible Investment (RI) Policy and our Investment Engagement Strategy which seeks to address how we work with and monitor our Fund Managers, with the aim of bringing their activities into alignment with our RI Policy and priorities.
Most notably this has resulted in £2.5bn (25%) of the Fund being switched to a new Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Sustainable Transition Global Equity Fund and an index tracking low carbon fund. The Fund’s Investment Steering Committee (ISC) have also agreed that £1bn be invested in impact solutions i.e., strategies that as well as delivering financially also deliver both positive environmental and social benefits that would not otherwise happen. To this end the ISC has already committed £100m investment each to Stafford Timberland’s Carbon Offset Opportunity Fund and to Partner’s LIFE II Fund.
We have also become a signatory to the Financial Report Council’s UK Stewardship Code which demonstrates the Fund commitment to being a responsible investor.
These changes are included in our new Investment Strategy Statement 2023, which you can read here.
What does this mean for you?
As the LGPS is a defined benefits (DB) pension scheme, the Fund’s ISS does not have any impact on the value of your pension benefits (you can find out more about how your pension is calculated here).
However, we know how important it is to many of you that the Fund invest in ways that make a positive impact both socially and environmentally. This is your opportunity to review how we invest, and to give us your opinions on our priorities, ambitions, and policies.
You can give us your views on our new Investment Strategy Statement 2023 by completing our online feedback form here.
Alternatively, you can email your comments to Fund.Consultation@essex.gov.uk.
The consultation closes on 24 September 2023.
