Responsible investment

We aim to be responsible investors of our members’ assets and believe that investment decisions should reflect environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations

Our investment approach

The People’s Pension has a logical, straightforward approach to investment. Our approach allows us to balance the complexity of managing risk and generating investment performance, with a simple and effective presentation of facts and choices to members.

Most members are invested in our default option – the ‘balanced’ investment profile. We’ve carefully thought through this investment profile to ensure it delivers an appropriate pension savings solution for members at different stages of their careers. Read more about our default option and investment choices for members.

The Trustee of The People’s Pension has a duty to our members to make decisions that are most likely to improve returns. They’re responsible for setting the investment strategy and governing the Scheme’s investment in line with its ‘Statement of Investment Principles’ (SIP).

Our ‘Investment implementation statement’ shows how the principles in the SIP have been applied, along with a summary of voting activity undertaken by the Scheme’s fund managers on the Trustee’s behalf.

The day-to-day management of the investments has been delegated by the Trustee to a professional investment manager, State Street Global Advisors Limited (SSGA). SSGA, which is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom, manages the investments within the restrictions set out in the investment management agreement.


Responsible investment and ESG issues

Responsible investment is an investment approach that considers how the companies in which we invest our members’ money manage environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in their business operations. How a company treats the environment, people, and how it is led and managed can have both financial and non-financial impacts on members, as well as cause long-term damage to the health of the planet and financial systems.

The People’s Pension has developed a strategic framework to guide its responsible investment approach. It consists of a set of principles divided into 3 pillars:

  • Portfolio construction – how we invest the portfolio
  • Stewardship – how we work with companies and other stakeholders on ESG issues
  • Reporting – how we publicly report and engage on what we are doing

The People’s Pension Trustee expects the asset managers it works with to take account of the investment principles and beliefs outlined in our publicly available documents (linked above) and will select managers based on their ability to support us in achieving the goals set out in the responsible investment and climate change policies.

To ensure that asset managers can assist us in achieving our responsible investment objectives, they will be regularly reviewed against the requirements and expectations set out in the responsible investment policy.


Member feedback is important to us

We ask our members, ‘which issues are most important to you for The People’s Pension to take into consideration when making decisions about where to invest your money?’. This helps to influence the order and priority of our research.

So far, climate change has come out on top…

To date, those who’ve completed our online responsible investment survey have told us:

  1. Climate change (80%)
  2. Sustainable land use (39%)
  3. Controversial weapons (37%)
  4. Packaging and waste (32%)
  5. Tax avoidance (29%)

The People’s Pension online responsible investment survey results so far as at 8 March 2024 (survey is currently ongoing since July 2019).

Investing your pension

We invest your money to give it a better chance of being worth more in the long run.

Our investment funds

Read about our investment funds and compare their past performances.

Climate change

Moving towards net zero investments.