FUND INVESTMENTS NEWS ARCHIVE 2010
| NOVEMBER |
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 Statement of Investment Principles 2010
The Fund has published an updated 2010 version of its Statement of Investment Principles (SIP) after being approved by Pensions Committee on 16 November 2010. The SIP sets out the policy which determines how the Fund invests its assets.
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Funding Strategy Statement 2010
After consultation with all relevant interested parties and approval by Pensions Committee on 16 November 2010, the Fund has published its 2010 Funding Strategy Statement (FSS).
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| OCTOBER |
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 Comprehensive Spending Review 2010THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER has announced the Government's 2010 Spending Review. It outlines the government's spending plans for the next four years. You can download the document ‘Spending Review 2010’ from HM Treasury’s website.
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 Fund signs UK Stewardship Code THE FUND has joined 67 other organisations as inaugural signatories to the UK Stewardship Code which sets out best practice in respect of shareholder engagement. You can view full details including a full list of signatories at the Financial Reporting Council's website.
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 Hutton Review Interim Report publishedThe Independent Public Service Pensions Commission set up in June to make recommendations on how public service pensions can be made sustainable and affordable in the future, has today published its interim report. The Commission will publish its final report in time for the 2011 Budget. You can download both the Report and accompanying Press Release.
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The Fund has published its Report & Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2010.
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| SEPTEMBER |
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THE FUND has published a statement of compliance with the U.K. Stewardship Code, which sets out best practice in respect of shareholder engagement.
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AUGUST
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The Fund is delighted to have been shortlisted in three categories by Professional Pensions in its 2010 Awards.
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| MAY |
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The Fund has published an updated 2010 version of its Statement of Investment Principles (SIP). The SIP sets out the policy which determines how the Fund invests its assets.
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Fund Statement:
Canadian Oil Sands - BP and Shell AGM Shareholder Resolutions
Merseyside Pension Fund (MPF) is making clear its position and voting stance on the resolutions filed at the 2010 AGMS of BP plc and Royal Dutch Shell plc regarding their Canadian oil sands projects.
As a responsible investor, Merseyside Pension Fund is fully committed to considering environmental, social and governance factors as part of its investment process. Furthermore, as a long-term investor, the Fund recognises the significance of climate change and its potential impact on its investments, including its significant shareholdings in BP plc and Royal Dutch Shell plc.
The development of Canadian oil sands resources is a complex issue which affects many stakeholders. The plans of both BP and Shell to develop these resources are driven by the growth in global energy demand and a recognition that to ensure a continued supply of energy and avoid a greater shift towards the use of coal within the energy mix, the world will need to embrace the development of all oil supply sources. Although they represent a small part of current global production, the oils sands represent major oil reserves second only to those of Saudi Arabia.
MPF acknowledges that industrial scale oil sands extraction is a contentious subject and that companies involved in oil sands projects need to address a number of complex questions around the economic viability of the projects, their climate change impacts, legal and regulatory risks, the rights of indigenous peoples, the ecological impact of mining operations and the reputational risk to the companies and their shareholders. As responsible owners, MPF has been working with its partners in the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) to engage with BP and Shell, in order to ensure that these environmental and social risks are being adequately addressed.
LAPFF’s engagement work on the oil sands issue began in early 2009, and we in the LAPFF have welcomed the added impetus that the shareholder resolutions (filed in December 2009) have brought to the engagement process. Both companies have placed a great deal of information relating to their oil sands projects in the public domain; senior executives from Shell and BP have met with LAPFF to respond to concerns over the sustainability of oil sands extraction. The primary request of the resolutions is for further disclosure. MPF has been pleased to see that, partly as a result of wider engagement with their shareholders, both companies have recognized the need to better explain their approach to oil sands extraction and have provided most (but not all) of the information sought by the resolutions.
MPF takes the view that shareholder engagement on this issue has produced some progress, but that it should remain ongoing: for this reason, MPF voted to abstain on the resolution at the AGM of BP (i.e. we did not support passing the resolution, but neither did we vote with management to oppose). We acknowledge that Shell has gone further down the path of disclosure, but feel that more information is needed regarding their plans for future development. Therefore, MPF will give strong consideration to once again voting to abstain on the resolution at the May 18th AGM.
In parallel with its LAPFF activities, the Fund has been supporting the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) in developing climate disclosure guidelines for companies in the oil & gas sector. MPF has recommended to BP and Shell that they consider adopting the IIGCC guidelines, as this would provide a consistent basis of reporting to shareholders on the risks and opportunities from climate change and evolving regulation faced by their companies.
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