17 June 2005 - Timms backs socially responsible investment
Pensions Minister Stephen Timms today backed socially responsible investment saying it was no longer necessary to equate it with poor returns and urging trustees to consider the benefits.
Mr Timms said:
“It is not unreasonable to take the view that companies with responsible environmental policies or that allow Trade Union representation, are likely to be well run companies.
“They run less reputational risk than others, and so are less likely to suffer the commercial consequences of customer animosity.
“They are also less likely than others to suffer costly adverse regulatory or enforcement decisions. They are at least as likely and perhaps more likely to represent good investments, and those are considerations which trustees can certainly reasonably take account of.”
Speaking at today’s TUC Stock Exchange Conference, ‘Pensions at the crossroads: Directions for trustees’, Mr Timms announced that consultation would begin to move closer to achieving 50% of member nominates trustees by 2009.
Mr Timms added:
“We want to move to a position, working with the industry to determine the best way of doing it, where we can achieve the move to 50% member nominated trustees by 2009”
He welcomed the new trustees panel adding that he wanted to ensure that all trustees had the knowledge and information required to be central to the decision making.
“The Panel will help us take full account of the views of trustees, as well as giving trustees the acknowledgement and support that is their due.
“Its strength will lie in its being completely independent of government, but having regular access to me, and giving a voice to trustees of all kinds in the policy judgments I need to make.
“I look forward to the first meeting of the panel taking place before Parliament’s summer recess.”
Notes for Editors
- Stephen Timms was speaking at the TUC Stock Exchange Conference, ‘Pensions at the crossroads: Directions for trustees’ in the City of London.
- A full copy of the speech will be not be available until after Mr Timms has spoken
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