Stewardship code
The fund was a tier 1 signatory to the previous stewardship code, so when the Financial reporting Council (FRC) updated the UK stewardship Code in 2020 to cover the 12 principles shown below, the fund gave a commitment to put arrangements in place to meet the new principles and to be able to evidence compliance.
This work resulted in a formal application to become a signatory to the UK Stewardship Code being submitted in May 2023. In August 2023 the FRC confirmed that, following full review of the application, that the fund was now a formal signatory to the UK Stewardship Code. A full list of the signatories to the code can be found on the FRC website.
This achievement demonstrates the fund's commitment to the highest standards of governance within our investments and demonstrates our commitment to considering Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) issues in our investment strategies.
Applications are renewed annually and the fund will continue to work with LGPS Central and our Investment Managers to continue to meet the objectives of the code.
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Principles of UK Stewardship Code 2020 |
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1. |
Signatories’ purpose, investment beliefs, strategy, and culture enable stewardship that creates long-term value for clients and beneficiaries leading to sustainable benefits for the economy, the environment and society.
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2. |
Signatories’ governance, resources and incentives support stewardship.
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3. |
Signatories manage conflicts of interest to put the best interests of clients and beneficiaries first.
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4. |
Signatories identify and respond to market-wide and systemic risks to promote well-functioning financial systems.
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5. |
Signatories review their policies, assure their processes and assess the effectiveness of their activities.
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6. |
Signatories take account of client and beneficiary needs and communicate the activities and outcomes of their stewardship and investment to them.
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7. |
Signatories systematically integrate stewardship and investment, including material environmental, social and governance issues, and climate change, to fulfil their responsibilities.
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8. |
Signatories monitor and hold to account managers and/or service providers.
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9. |
Signatories engage with issuers to maintain or enhance the value of assets.
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10. |
Signatories, where necessary, participate in collaborative engagement to influence issuers.
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11. |
Signatories, where necessary, escalate stewardship activities to influence issuers.
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12. |
Signatories actively exercise their rights and responsibilities.
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