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Following a sampling of ten universities, on how easy it is to find out what fund choices are open to DC members, USSDivest made the following requests at the meeting: Overall, the meeting was very positive, with USS responses largely in favour of our suggestions.     USS provides standard information about DC choices, to be placedContinue reading “Meeting between USS and USSDivest October 2021 (Post 2)”

Ahead of our meeting with USS in October which focussed on communication with members in the DC part of the scheme (who have the choice of an ethical fund for their contributions) we conducted a survey of how information is provided to members about these choices. This could become even more important if the changesContinue reading “October Meeting with USS”

The recent announcement by the JNC that the threshold for the DC scheme will be reduced from £60k to £40k on 1/4/22 means that many more than the current 37% of active members will suddenly join the DC section. We think this presents a real opportunity to raise the level of awareness among USS membersContinue reading “Changes to the DC Scheme”

Below is a summary of the meeting between USS and Ethics4USS held on January 21st. This meeting was primarily to discuss the results of a survey of members conducted by Maastricht University in October 2020. The survey showed strong support for sustainable investment from members – with many respondents happy to have smaller financial returnsContinue reading “Summary of Meeting with USS (January 2021)”

So we recently asked USS three questions and we have now received their answers: Q. As a 10% owner of Heathrow Airport is USS supporting the building of a third runway despite the recognition that it would lead to a dangerous increase in carbon emissions and that further investment is risky as Heathrow could becomeContinue reading “Three questions for USS and two disappointing answers”

USS: Dame Kate Barker, Chair USS Trustees  Dr Daniel Summerfield, USS Head of Corporate Affairs David Russell, USS Head of Responsible Investment  Ethics4USS Brian Hoskins , retired member, Grantham Institute, Imperial  Sue Blackwell, deferred member, Birmingham  Ceri Sullivan, Cardiff  Ellie Harrison, Dundee  Charlotte, Rae, Sussex  Andrew Jarvis, Lancaster  Paul Kinnersley, retired member, Cardiff  Introductions – AllContinue reading “Summary of Meeting with USS October 27th 2020”

USS is conducting a survey on ’Sustainable and Ethical Investment’.  As you may know, to date USS has had major investments in fossil fuels along with armaments and tobacco. They have agreed to divest from tobacco but need to hear from members that we want them to divest from fossil fuels, armaments and other sectorsContinue reading “USS Survey on Sustainable/Ethical Investments”

We have just observed major changes in the list of ‘USS top 100 equities’ on the website (https://www.uss.co.uk/how-uss-invests/the-fund/investments/uss-top-100-listed-equities).   In total these represented over £ 1 Billion disinvested from carbon intensive industries. This appears to be a massive change in investment strategy and one that we believe is in line with the views of most USS members.Continue reading “Big changes in USS top 100 listed equities”

Attendees USS Daniel Summerfield – Head, Corporate Affairs (Chair) Simon Pilcher, Chief Executive of Investment Management Naomi Clark, Head Investment Product management David Russell, Head Responsible Investment Joel Sawyer, Corporate Communications Manager Ethics for USS Paul Kinnersley, retired member from Cardiff University, co-ordinator for Ethics for USS Sue Blackwell, ex of Birmingham University and deferredContinue reading “Summary of Meeting with USS May 27th”

Article from Times Higher Education (June 10th 2020) by Bill Spence The Universities Superannuation Scheme’s recent announcement that it will “exclude, and where necessary, divest” from tobacco companies, thermal coal and some weapons industries is welcome but long overdue. Members may be surprised, for instance, that it took 70 years for the discovery that cigarettes cause lungContinue reading “Why is the UK’s largest pension scheme still investing in fossil fuels?”