Every quarter USS publish a list of their ‘top 100 public investments’. Here’s a brief summary of the main changes from September 2024 – December 2024. Sold doesn’t necessarily mean USS have completely sold their holding in that company, rather it has sold sufficient that it is no longer in the top 100 list. Similarly, bought doesn’t necessarily mean that USS has no holding in that company previously but that it has increased the holding such that it is now in the top 100 list:
| Sold (dropped out of top 100 list) | Bought (new to top 100 list) | ||
| PDD | £ 49 m | Amazon | £ 257 m |
| Shinhai Financial | £ 46 | Tesla | £ 142 m |
| Hyundai | £ 44 m | Berkshire Hathaway | £ 76 m |
| China State Construction | £ 43 m | Chevron | £ 55 m |
| Chromo Ate | £ 38 m | EMAAR | £ 43 m |
| NTPC | £ 37 m | International Business Machines | £ 42 m |
| Bank Mandiri Persero | £ 37 m | Salesforce | £ 40 m |
| Bayaj Finance | £ 37 m | Toyota | £ 39 m |
| Larsen & Toubro | £ 36 m | Bank of America | £ 37 m |
| Thermo Fisher | £ 36 m | JD Com | £ 37 m |
| Bank Central Asia | £ 35 m | Total | £ 34 m |
| First Rand | £ 34 m | Capitec Bank | £ 34 m |
| Exxon Mobil | £ 34 m | Abbott Lab | £ 33 m |
| Amgen | £ 33 m | Mahindra & Mahindra | £ 32 m |
Other notable changes:
Alibaba – holding decreased from £ 137 m to £ 67 m
Pepsico – holding decreased from £ 90 m to £ 47 m
Reliance – holding decrease from £ 76 m to £ 34 m
Broadcom – holding increased from £ 115 m to £ 165 m
Comments
Probably the most debatable of these investments is Tesla. Looking at the share price it rose dramatically around the inauguration of President Trump possibly because of the close links between Musk and Trump. But there are significant reservations as to whether Tesla is a good investment – see https://moneyweek.com/investments/should-you-invest-in-tesla. Furthermore concerns have been raised about Musk’s remuneration package ($ 56 billion). The Dutch Civil Service Pension Scheme ABP decided to divest its holding in Tesla as it did not fit their long term investing approach https://www.ipe.com/news/dutch-pension-funds-divest-from-tesla/10128296.article. Will USS support Musk’s remuneration package next time it comes up for a vote?
It is also of concern to see Chevron and Total back in the ‘top 100’ again. USS should not be investing more of our pension contributions into oil and gas companies that are not rapidly transitioning to renewables,