United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment
Printer-friendly versionMerseyside Pension Fund became a signatory to the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment (UN PRI) in 2007. This has since been the underpinning of the Fund’s responsible investment policy.
In summary, the Principles (shown below) encapsulate the belief that, over the long term, active consideration of environmental, social and governance issues will enhance the value of investments. This means incorporating these issues into investment analysis and decision-making, acting as a responsible owner of the companies in which we invest and collaborating with like-minded investors on issues of shared concern.
- We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices
- We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes
- We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest
- We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry
- We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles
- We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles
As institutional investors, we have a duty to act in the best long-term interests of our beneficiaries.
In this fiduciary role, we believe that environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues can affect the performance of investment portfolios (to varying degrees across companies, sectors, regions, asset classes and through time).
We also recognise that applying these Principles may better align investors with broader objectives of society.
The Principles for Responsible Investment were developed by an international group of institutional investors reflecting the increasing relevance of environmental, social and corporate governance issues to investment practices. The process was convened by the United Nations Secretary-General.
In signing the Principles, we as investors publicly commit to adopt and implement them, where consistent with our fiduciary responsibilities. We also commit to evaluate the effectiveness and improve the content of the Principles over time. We believe this will improve our ability to meet commitments to beneficiaries as well as better align our investment activities with the broader interests of society.
We encourage other investors to adopt the Principles.