Council seeks advice on divestment after Waltham Forest pulls funds from arms trade
Islington Town Hall. Photograph: Islington Citizen
Islington Council is still waiting on further advice before it decides whether to pull pension fund investments from companies linked to human rights abuses in the illegally occupied Palestinian Territories.
Another London local authority, Waltham Forest, recently made headlines when it committed to “divesting” its funds from all arms producers in a move to update its “ethical investment policy”.
Islington’s pensions committee previously signalled a similar desire when its chair, Cllr Paul Convery, said there was a “strong moral imperative” to divest.
Speaking to the Citizen, Cllr Convery said the committee was “committed to ensuring that our pension fund achieves maximum growth from its investments, while also abiding by our environmental and societal responsibilities”.
“The pension fund holds a total of £1.53m in the aerospace and defence sectors, representing just 0.07 per cent of the fund’s total value of £1.975bn,” he added.
“Furthermore, the pension fund no longer holds any shares in defence industries directly, and our exposure is through third-party funds where we do not have control over specific holdings.
“In addition, all defence and aerospace investments are in firms that are also civilian-use manufacturers.”
He did not comment on Waltham Forest’s decision to divest its fund entirely from the arms trade.
The Town Hall pensions committee has a legal obligation to make sure pension funds make enough money to sustain themselves, which has led other councils to claim their hands are tied when it comes to divestment.
But Cllr Convery previously said he did not see any “major legal block” to divestment of this kind.
The council has identified two funds, managed by Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), indirectly linked to around 10 companies that the United Nations has said are “compliant in human rights abuses” in Palestine.
Cllr Convery previously said a decision would be made in July, but this was later pushed back to September.
An update will be reported to the committee on 26 September, he confirmed.
Elsewhere, the council is also pursuing new financial arrangements more in line with its ‘ethical criteria’.
The council’s banking contract with Barclays expires in 2025, and finance chief Ward has guaranteed that whoever the next partner is will have to meet the “most robust ethical criteria ever”.