Key Takeaways
- • The Greater Gwent (Torfaen) Pension Fund, run by Torfaen Borough Council, has £62 million invested in companies covered by three lists monitoring exposure to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, equal to 1.23 per cent of its £5.05 billion portfolio at the end of March.
- • The £62 million figure is lower than the £233 million cited in a petition from Amnesty International Monmouthshire Group and Abergavenny Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which drew on Palestine Solidarity Campaign research.
- • The fund is a member of the Wales Pension Partnership, which revised its responsible investment policy and exclusions framework in March and took effect in April, allowing exclusions tied to thermal coal, unconventional oil and gas, controversial weapons, and breaches of global norms.
- • The framework applies to listed equity and bond mandates, representing more than 80 per cent of the Greater Gwent fund's assets, and may expand to private markets over time.
- • Council leader Anthony Hunt (Labour) backed a holistic approach, while Reform UK councillor Stuart Keyte warned that further constraints could damage the fund.
Summary
Torfaen Borough Council has disclosed that about £62 million of assets in the Greater Gwent (Torfaen) Pension Fund are invested in companies potentially linked to Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, according to a report on the council's response to petitioners. The figure was provided in reply to a petition from Amnesty International Monmouthshire Group and Abergavenny Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which asked the council to divest from firms it described as linked to genocide and apartheid in Palestine and to weapons used in Israel's war in Gaza.
The £62 million represents 1.23 per cent of the fund's total £5.05 billion portfolio at the end of March. The fund's exposure was measured against lists issued by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the American Friends Service Committee, and the research centre Who Profits. The Wales Pension Partnership, of which the fund is a member and which manages more than 75 per cent of its assets, stated these lists are "not the sole basis for decision-making" and that assessments of direct and indirect company involvement "can be complex." The petitioners' £233 million figure, based on Palestine Solidarity Campaign research, was higher than the council's figure.
The partnership's revised responsible investment policy and exclusions framework, agreed in March and effective from April, permits exclusions for companies with material involvement in thermal coal, unconventional oil and gas, controversial weapons, and companies in breach of "global norms," including international humanitarian law. The framework covers listed equity and bond mandates, about 65 per cent of all Welsh Local Government Pension funds and over 80 per cent of the Greater Gwent fund's assets. The partnership will consider extending the framework to private market investments over time, and the fund will review its responsible investment approach as part of its strategy review in the coming months.
Council leader Anthony Hunt said the petitioners raised "legitimate concerns" but favoured viewing the issue "in the round" and prioritising the fund's duty to provide for former and current public service workers. Reform UK councillor Stuart Keyte echoed these comments but cautioned against further constraints, questioning where divestment would end. Councillors agreed to provide the drafted response to the petitioners, with four abstaining.
The £62 million represents 1.23 per cent of the fund's total £5.05 billion portfolio at the end of March. The fund's exposure was measured against lists issued by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the American Friends Service Committee, and the research centre Who Profits. The Wales Pension Partnership, of which the fund is a member and which manages more than 75 per cent of its assets, stated these lists are "not the sole basis for decision-making" and that assessments of direct and indirect company involvement "can be complex." The petitioners' £233 million figure, based on Palestine Solidarity Campaign research, was higher than the council's figure.
The partnership's revised responsible investment policy and exclusions framework, agreed in March and effective from April, permits exclusions for companies with material involvement in thermal coal, unconventional oil and gas, controversial weapons, and companies in breach of "global norms," including international humanitarian law. The framework covers listed equity and bond mandates, about 65 per cent of all Welsh Local Government Pension funds and over 80 per cent of the Greater Gwent fund's assets. The partnership will consider extending the framework to private market investments over time, and the fund will review its responsible investment approach as part of its strategy review in the coming months.
Council leader Anthony Hunt said the petitioners raised "legitimate concerns" but favoured viewing the issue "in the round" and prioritising the fund's duty to provide for former and current public service workers. Reform UK councillor Stuart Keyte echoed these comments but cautioned against further constraints, questioning where divestment would end. Councillors agreed to provide the drafted response to the petitioners, with four abstaining.
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