The town hall’s pension fund will no longer be invested in Russia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it has been confirmed.
The London Pension Fund Authority (LPFA), which manages the pension funds of the GLA and several London borough councils, revealed its intention to stop investing in Russia and Belarus in response to a letter sent by the London Assembly Member, Caroline Pidgeon.
In total, the fund was invested in eight Russian stocks, three of which have already been sold. But the LPFA confirmed it was “unlikely” to divest the remaining five stocks anytime soon due to the effects of Russia sanctions and the shutdown of stock exchanges.
About £1.5m of LPFA pension funds are invested in Russia, which it says represents 0.02% of its total pension fund assets.
Lib Dem Assemblywoman Caroline Pidgeon, who raised the issue with LPFA in an open letter, said it was a matter of “fundamental justice”.
She said: ‘I welcome the London Pensions Fund Authority’s decision that they seek to divest Russian and Belarusian investments where they can and, importantly, that they will not make any new investments in Russia or Belarus.
“Stopping investments in Russian companies and bonds is not only a matter of fundamental justice and solidarity with the Ukrainian people, but also the long-term economic interests of pension holders.”
As well as administering the Town Hall’s pensions, the LPFA also administers the pensions of the borough councils of Camden, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Islington, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Wandsworth.
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Source: www.times-series.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-03-21 19:20:23
