The People’s Partnership, provider of The People’s Pension, a £29bn UK master trust, has applied a blanket exclusion to fossil fuels in its Ethical Fund.
The DC provider announced a series of changes to its Ethical Fund, which included blanket exclusions and a strict decarbonisation target. The fund already excluded severe ESG controversies and controversial weapons. But it has now expanded these exclusions to include fossil fuels, weapons, alcohol, tobacco, gambling, adult entertainment, unsustainable palm oil, recreational cannabis, and for-profit prisons.
With regard to its fossil fuel exclusion, the People’s Partnership has confirmed that it will exclude all companies where there is evidence of a tie to fossil fuels, for example through reserves, production, related revenue or power generation.
Daniel Coombes, ESG integration manager at the People's Partnership commented on social media: "Taking on a project like this from start to finish has been a great experience. This is another small but important step on the journey of The People's Pension creating a net zero portfolio by 2050. The Ethical Fund now gives members the opportunity to invest their savings in a way that aligns with their ethical views, whilst also aligning to the Paris Agreement."
Leanne Clements, head of responsible investment for the People's Partnership will be speaking at Net Zero Investor's Annual Conference on 25 October in London
According to the master trust’s analysis, as of 31 August 2024, approximately 13% of the previous strategy was invested in companies that have ties to fossil fuels.
The People’s Pension’s Ethical Fund aims to track the performance of the global equity market as closely as possible whilst only selecting 'socially responsible investments'.
Currently, the fund has 65.8% invested in US equities, with its top holdings being American technology giants Nvidia (5.81%), Microsoft (4.78%) and Apple (3.06%).
Alongside its exclusions policy, the People’s Partnership has also implemented a new decarbonisation target for its Ethical Fund, which will cut the strategy’s carbon intensity by at least 50%, with the goal of further reducing it by 10% every year. The People’s Partnership has 6.7m members, with 99% of them invested in the master trust’s default fund.
The People's Partnership's Leanne Clements on climate stewardship and 2030 targets
