A survey of some of Britain's biggest pension schemes published on Saturday said only a small share of them disclosed investment views on controversies such as climate change and company governance.
A survey of the 20 largest occupational pension funds, together worth more than 250 billion pounds ($479 billion), showed only five of them disclosed policies for engaging firms on environmental, social and governance issues, according to FairPensions, an investment campaigning group.
Big investors such as pension plans, insurance funds and asset managers have been encouraged by environmental lobbyists and other campaigners to use their economic muscle to change the practices of the firms they invest in.
Among the survey's findings, it said organisations like the BBC and the Royal Mail gave little transparency on their investments. Only the pension scheme of BT Group disclosed how votes had been cast on its members' behalf, while the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) and pension fund of the UK rail industry gave partial voting data, the report said.
The survey showed that 15 of the respondents disclosed their biggest shareholdings. "Pension scheme members will have concerns about how their pensions will be affected by issues such as climate change, but most are not given reassuring information on such issues," Alex van der Velden, Executive Director of FairPensions, said.
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