The Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF), one of the UK's largest local government pension funds with £30bn of assets under management, has adopted pass-through voting.
GMPF, which is part of the Northern LGPS investment pool, has embraced pass-through voting through a split voting service jointly offered by Legal and General Investment Management (LGIM) and stewardship fintech Tumelo.
The technology allows GMPF to uniformly apply its voting preferences on Annual General Meeting (AGM) resolutions across segregated and pooled funds. Historically, LGIM controlled the pension funds votes for pooled funds, whilst PIRC voted on behalf of GMPF’s segregated funds.
The fund has already used this technology when supporting a resolution filed by non-governmental organisation Follow This at Shell’s AGM, which urged the oil and gas supermajor to align its medium-term emissions reduction targets with the Paris Climate Agreement, according to Tumeo.
Gerald Cooney, chair of the GMPF, said: “We continue to value the stewardship activities undertaken by LGIM beyond the votes, implementing our voting policies will also give GMPF more influence and a stronger voice when we engage with portfolio companies."
Other pension funds who have committed to pass-through voting include the UK’s £3bn Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London (SAUL) pension fund and £2bn London Borough of Camden Pension Fund.
Other asset owners, including DC master trust Smart Pension, have either provided seed capital to funds offering split voting or have engaged with their managers to expand the availability of split voting services.
Georgia Stewart, CEO of Tumelo, said: "Pension funds are increasingly aware of their potential to impact the companies they invest in. Customising stewardship is crucial in amplifying this influence, ensuring investments reflect their goals. The stewardship landscape is set to become more intricate.”
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