A leading UK pension provider is launching a new plan that will allow customers to invest their retirement funds exclusively in companies that have a positive impact on the planet and society.
PensionBee’s new Impact Plan, launching tomorrow, will invest in companies tackling challenges such as better healthcare, education and cleaner energy.
The fund’s top holdings include US biopharmaceutical firm Royalty Pharma, energy management firm Schneider Electric and Danish sustainable energy company Vestas.
Exclusive: PensionBee’s new Impact Plan will invest in companies tackling challenges such as better healthcare, education and cleaner energy
Investments will be picked by fund managers at BlackRock, based on PensionBee’s strict criteria. The fund will comprise around 200 to 300 investments, which PensionBee hopes will be sufficient to provide a globally diversified portfolio. Annual fees are 0.95 per cent.
Once existing customers have pledged to invest £50million in the fund, it will be made available to the wider public.
Interest in investing to make a positive impact has been growing rapidly in recent years, but still only accounts for under one per cent of UK investors’ funds.
Most pension providers now offer fund options badged as ‘ethical’, ‘green’, ‘sustainable’ or which have a focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.
However, in practice, many of these funds simply screen out companies that they consider do harm – such as those that profit from gambling, alcohol or weapons manufacturing. Few offer funds packed with companies that actively seek to do good.
Clare Reilly, chief engagement officer of PensionBee, says: ‘Our customers told us that the planet and society they retire into is as important as their pension pot.
‘They want to invest beyond the same set of stocks, in the companies of tomorrow, which already have a measurable and tangible positive impact on the planet.’
As many as 68 per cent of UK savers say they want their investments to consider people and planet alongside profit.
