Powys pension fund has no direct investments in Israel
Powys pension fund has no “direct investments” in Israel a senior councillor has said
At a Powys County Council meeting on Thursday, March 6 the pensions and investments committee chairman, Cllr Peter Lewis made the statement during the questions from members of the public section.
Ahead of the meeting Michael Brown’s had asked whether Powys pension funds were investing in firms at risk of being linked to potential war crimes committed against the civilian population of Gaza.
Mr Brown had been given an extensive written reply.
Under the rules that govern questions from members of the public, he was allowed to ask an extra question based on the answer given to him.
Mr Brown said that believed that the council were relying too much on asset managers Robeco who engage or influence companies on behalf of the Wales Pension Partnership (WPP) which includes Powys pensions.
Mr Brown said: “The United Nations (UN) have identified a list of around 100 companies operating in Gaza and the illegally occupied territories supplying equipment or technology linked to potential war crimes.
“In order to protect Powys pensioners from inadvertently profiting from these companies potentially complicit in war crimes, will the pensions committee as its default position avoid these companies for now that appear on the latest UN list.”
Cllr Lewis replied: “Based on the latest data from the WPP, Powys pension fund has no direct holdings in Israel, I hope that clears the matter.”
If Mr Brown wanted more detail Cllr Lewis said he would be happy to supply it.
