UK university pension fund to axe controversial investments
The UK university pension scheme is to end investments in tobacco, coal and controversial weapons manufacturers after bowing to pressure for policy changes from its membership of academics and higher education staff.
The £75bn Universities Superannuation Scheme, the UK’s largest private pension fund by assets, will divest its holdings in tobacco companies and exclude future investments in thermal coal producers along with businesses with ties to cluster munitions, white phosphorus and landmines.
Simon Pilcher, chief executive of USS Investment Management, said issues that would affect these businesses, such as shifts in political attitudes and increased regulation, had not fully been taken into account by traditional financial models used by City analysts to predict performance.
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