Our new Stewardship and Voting Policy will see us vote more personally against responsible directors where possible. David Russell, Head of Responsible Investment, talks to our new voting approach and looks at how we’ve voted for climate action recently.
Simon Pilcher, Chief Executive of USS Investment Management, details the current risks faced by defined benefit schemes, and how an investment strategy should be based on balance, diversification and resilience.
We were delighted to receive the ICGN’s Global Stewardship Disclosure Award 2022 (for asset owners above £60bn) for our full range of disclosures, particularly our Stewardship Code Report, full and summary TCFD Reports and our web content. This demonstrates our commitment to Responsible Investment, our important work in this area, and our approach to transparency.
People are more interested in how their investments are influencing the world around us than ever before, and USS believes it’s important to give members the opportunity to invest in line with their values. To coincide with the update to the scheme’s Ethical Guidelines (for savings in the Investment Builder), Dean Blower, Head of Strategy & Insight, and Aleck Johnston, Head of DC Investment Product, write about how USS provides its members with ethical investment options.
Reporting season is once again upon us, and this year marks the second iteration of our Stewardship Code Report. We became a signatory to the new Stewardship Code last year, and to retain this status, we submitted a 2021/22 report to the FRC at the end of April 2022. The Code comprises a set of 12 ‘apply and explain’ Principles for asset managers and asset owners, and our report must evidence how we have applied them over the previous year.
It’s coming up to two years since the date of the 2020 valuation. What’s been happening to the funding position in that time and where do things stand today?
We recently responded to DWP’s Climate Investment and Reporting Consultation which sought views on additional requirements and metrics for climate reporting.
Value for money matters at the best of times but, with rising inflation and conditions in financial markets making defined benefit pensions more expensive, it is more important than ever that we can demonstrate that USS is run in a cost-effective manner.
We held our annual Institutions’ Meeting at the Royal College of Physicians on Thursday 2 December 2021.