Ethical Investment

In December 2019 果冻影院 divested from fossil fuels and committed not to invest in companies involved in fossil fuel extraction or production in the future.

果冻影院 will make public its portfolio of investments to be transparent about its investment decisions.聽

果冻影院鈥檚 Investment Policy

The investment of funds is controlled by 果冻影院鈥檚 Investments Committee, which appoints investment managers. The Committee normally meets four times a year and reports through Finance Committee to Council, 果冻影院鈥檚 governing body. The investment managers are required to attend meetings of the Investments Committee. Income returns are agreed each year and are monitored by the Investments Committee. The Investments Committee decides on the broad proportions of funds to be invested in bonds, UK equities, overseas equities and cash. The investment policy objective is to obtain at least the minimum returns set by the Investments Committee, having regard to market benchmarks, for the forthcoming year and also to maintain the value of the portfolio in real terms so far as practical.

痴颈别飞听Policy 果冻影院's Investment Policy.

果冻影院鈥檚 Socially Responsible Investment Policy

To ensure that 果冻影院鈥檚 investments match our founding principles of addressing world problems and instilling ethical values, the University has adopted a Socially Responsible Investment Policy, approved by 果冻影院 Council in October 2018.聽 The policy commits 果冻影院 to investing its funds on a responsible basis with due regard to ethical, social and environmental, governance (ESG) issues. 果冻影院 will appoint fund managers that demonstrate rigorous implementation of the Principles for Responsible Investment supported by the United Nations.

The University will review this Policy for Socially Responsible Investment every two years.

顿辞飞苍濒辞补诲听Policy for Socially Responsible Investment (pdf)

Investment Committee

The ethical principles outlined in 果冻影院鈥檚 Investment Policy and Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Policy are upheld and reviewed through 果冻影院鈥檚 Investment Committee, which reports through Finance Committee to Council, 果冻影院鈥檚 governing body.

The Committee includes student representation with the current 果冻影院 Union Democracy, Operations and Community Sabbatical Officer in attendance, who voices any concerns raised by the wider student community, including Fossil Free 果冻影院.

View 果冻影院's current Investment Committee members and reporting structure

Investment Commitments

果冻影院 has appointed two fund management firms, both of which follow the requirements of 果冻影院鈥� Socially Responsible Investment Policy.

Both firms are signatories of the UN Six Principles for Responsible Investment. While the two firms apply their own ethical investment restrictions which are not necessarily identical, both must be compliant with our SRI Policy, and follow additional restrictions chosen by 果冻影院.

The University will adopt investment strategies that seek to minimise and ideally eliminate irresponsible corporate behaviour. Some of the ethical, social, environmental and governance issues which it will focus on include:

Environmental degradation;
Armament sales to military regimes;
Human rights violations;
Institutionalisation of poverty through discriminatory market practices;
Racial or sexual discrimination;
Tobacco production and manufacture.

Specifically 果冻影院 will take these investment stances:

No investment in companies involved in tobacco manufacture or production;
No investment in companies with more than 10% of turnover in mining thermal coal or tar sands;
Where a company in which the University currently holds shares does not respond positively to concerns about its practices and is deemed to be in fundamental breach of acceptable standards of ethical and/or environmental practice, the University will divest itself of shares in that company and require the investment manager to inform the company of its reasons for doing so;
Investment managers will be instructed to monitor the performance of companies and to bring recommendations for divestment strategies to the Investment Committee for a decision.

Reporting on Socially Responsible Investment

果冻影院鈥檚 fund managers are required to report on ethical investment in their routine (quarterly) valuation reports.聽
Fund managers will be required to produce an annual report on their socially responsible investment performance for Finance Committee upon request.

Active Engagement

果冻影院 will retain some control over investment choices while following these socially responsible and active engagement principles. This means taking a holistic approach to ethical investment, addressing a broad range of matters including taking an active stance in respect of climate change. 果冻影院 recognises that companies with business models based in a carbon economy, which are not transitioning to a low carbon economy, do not represent sound financial and ethical investments. As an investor, the University has three means of bringing pressure to bear on corporate behaviour:

Acquisition

The University will require investment managers to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into their selection criteria;
The University will seek to identify and promote low or zero carbon investments where available without detrimental impact to investment risks and returns.

Divestment

Where a company in which the University currently holds shares does not respond positively to concerns about its practices and is deemed to be in fundamental breach of acceptable standards of ethical and/or environmental practice, the University will divest itself of shares in that company and require the investment manager to inform the company of its reasons for doing so;
Investment managers will be instructed to monitor the performance of companies and to bring recommendations for divestment strategies to the Investment Committee for a decision.

Engagement

The University will expect investment managers to engage with companies where ESG issues are a concern, provide proxy voting on ESG issues and report to the University on their engagement activities;
Where the University invests in any company that does not appear to be pursuing sound ethical business practices and/or displaying appropriate environmental responsibility, the investment managers will seek to persuade that company to operate in a more socially and environmentally responsible manner, both informally and formally (raising issues at Annual General Meeting and exercising its shareholder鈥檚 right to vote).

Fund Breakdown

果冻影院's annual list of investments can be found here: /finance/home/annual-report-financial-statements-and-investment-portfolios