Issued on: 19 July 2011
The Pensions Trust, one of the leading occupational pension funds in the UK for the Third Sector, today announces the introduction of its Diversified Ethical Fund to its Flexible Retirement Plan.
The Diversified Ethical Fund provides a new investment option for over 5,300 members of the Flexible Retirement Plan, and is also open to new members. The Fund, which was not previously available to members of the Flexible Retirement Plan, invests across a range of asset classes including a mix of UK and overseas equities as well as UK and overseas bonds and gilts, selecting securities on a screened basis with the ultimate aim of:
• Investing in companies that make a positive contribution to society.
• Using influence as an investor to encourage best practice management of social and responsibility issues.
• Avoiding investing in companies that are harmful.
The initial launch of the Diversified Ethical Fund on 1 January 2011 within the Trust’s Ethical Fund, was the result of member surveys conducted over the past two years, with the aim of determining their attitudes towards ethical and responsible investment.
Stephen Nichols, Chief Executive at The Pensions Trust, said: ‘We wanted to get views from our members about what was important to them when considering their investment and it became clear that ethical and responsible investment is high on the pensions investment agenda. At The Pensions Trust, we are committed to providing a service that meets our members’ needs, and the addition of the Diversified Ethical Fund into the Flexible Retirement Plan has enabled us to upgrade our offering to make responsible investment available to more of our members.’
Notes to Editors:
The Diversified Ethical Fund has been introduced to complement the existing eight funds (below) within the Flexible Retirement Plan.
• Managed Fund
• Pre-Retirement Fund
• Socially Responsible Investment Fund
• Global Equity Fund
• Property Fund
• Bond Fund
• Index-Linked Gilts Fund
• Cash Fund
The Diversified Ethical Fund has been introduced within the Flexible Retirement Plan effective from 1 June 2011.
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