Fidelity International is the latest workplace pension provide to partner with Tumelo — giving members an opportunity to express views on key ESG issues at upcoming company votes.
The tool — known as Illuminate —will allow pension members to see where their pension is invested. It also allows members to express their opinion on ESG issues relating to these companies, in the form of a vote preference.
This preference is submitted to the fund manager in a collective view of Fidelity Illuminate members’ opinions, for consideration as part of their voting at the company’s Annual General Meetings (AGMs). The fund manager’s vote and final AGM result will be available to members.
The tool is integrated with PlanViewer, Fidelity’s Workplace Investing platform, meaning members can engage with their savings and benefit from a range of practical features in one place, without the need for multiple logins.
Tumelo CEO Georgia Stewart added: “Pension platforms, trustees, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) are all calling for the same thing: for pension members to be asked about and informed on the sustainability of their pension pots.
“Members want to know about the real-world impact the companies their pensions hold are having on the economy and on the communities and environments around them. The Illuminate tool affords members of Fidelity’s workplace pension platform the greatest level of transparency and engagement on ESG issues, encouraging accountability from fund managers, education for pension schemes and a sense of ownership from individual members.”
Fidelity International head of workplace distribution Dan Smith says: “Workplace pension members are investors in some of the world’s biggest and most influential organisations, and increasingly want to share their views on the ESG decisions these companies make. Fidelity Illuminate provides an opportunity for them to have a voice on the issues which matter to them.”
