UK sustainable investment leader Brunel Pension Partnership may be forced to merge with another pool or disband after the government rejected the pool’s plans to comply with new requirements under the aim to drive consolidation of local government pension assets. The government had asked pools to submit plans to comply with new requirements on management and structure but has rejected those submitted by Brunel and another pool, ACCESS, meaning they will be forced to explore merger options. The pair will have to notify ministers of merger plans by the end of September.

Brunel has been a responsible investment leader since foundation, with chief responsible investment officer Faith Ward serving as chair of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change and as a member of the Green Taxonomy Advisory Group and International Sustainability Standards Board investor advisory group. It said in a statement that it would consider its next steps along with client funds.

DWS has changed the exclusions criteria for actively managed Article 8 funds that do not use an ESG or sustainability term in their name to allow them to invest in defence stocks. The changes, set to be implemented in April and May, will see the funds allowed to invest in defence stocks while still being banned from controversial weapons. However, Article 8 funds that do use sustainability-related terms will retain the exclusions. Under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, funds reporting against Article 8 “promote environmental or social characteristics” but do not have a sustainable investment objective.

The University of Cambridge and Bloomberg’s index arm have partnered to create a bond index selecting companies based on their current corporate behaviours rather than broad sector exposure, allowing fossil fuel companies to be included or re-included if they stop expansion or phase down fossil fuel activities. Both the University of Cambridge and UN Joint Staff Pension Fund are expected to invest in funds tracking the index when it launches later this year, with the university allocating up to £200 million ($262 million; €230 million) and the UN between $250 million and $500 million.

Anthony Odgers, the university’s chief financial officer, said: “The index is a game-changer for the growing number of asset owners who invest in corporate debt and understand its impact on fossil fuel expansion, particularly the construction of new fossil fuel infrastructure such as coal and gas-fired power plants which risk locking in fossil fuel usage for decades.”

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