How does SRI fit with the fiduciary responsibilities of pension trustees?
There are two highly significant developments in recent years which trustees should be aware of: In the UK, from 3 July 2000, as a result of an amendment to the 1995 Pensions Act, trustees of occupational pension funds must declare in their statement of investment principles: i. The extent (if at all) to which social, environmental or ethical considerations are taken into account in the selection, retention and realisation of investments; and ii. The policy (if any) directing the exercise of the rights (including voting rights) attaching to investments. UK Local authority pension funds will be required to make a similar statement and the European Commission is also examining how this principle might become a European wide requirement. In the US the Department of Labour has stated that “the fiduciary standards of sections 403 and 404 do not preclude consideration of collateral benefits, such as those offered by a “socially responsible” fund, in a fiduciary’s evaluation of a particular i
