ShareAction has called for stronger member involvement in their schemes, including through annual general meetings.
The responsible investment non-profit made the comments in its response to the UK Government’s consultation on pension trusteeship and scheme governance.
Luke Hildyard, head of UK policy at ShareAction, says: “Ministers want pension schemes to power long-term growth and better returns. For that, schemes and their boards need to be accountable in a meaningful way to the people whose money they invest.
“Pension fund AGMs offer a way for schemes to have a genuine dialogue with their members on topics ranging from customer service to climate change. The experience from Australia and Denmark, where many schemes already hold annual meetings for members, suggests that AGMs build people’s confidence in pensions, sharpen the focus of scheme governance bodies on delivering for their members, and promote greater engagement with responsible investment issues.”
Hildyard also claimed that when scheme members have greater input, governance standards rise and long-term performance follows. With this in mind, ShareAction’s position is that pension savers should be able to provide greater influence, namely through a commitment to pension scheme AGMs.
In February, Swiss food multinational Nestle for the first time disclosed data showing the nutritional value of its foods, following stewardship pressure from ShareAction.
