LPFA appoints Minerva as vote monitoring service partner

September 9th, 2024

The London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA), a £8 billion Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) fund with around 100,000 members, has appointed Minerva Analytics to provide additional insight into fund manager use of share voting rights and the rationale behind voting decisions. 

The appointment forms part of the LPFA’s net zero commitment as a signatory to Paris Aligned Asset Owners. The LPFA will be using Minerva to provide understanding of how share voting decisions made on their behalf are aligned with the Net Zero Voting Guidance of the Institutional Investor Group on Climate Change (IIGCC).  In addition the appointment helps the Fund strengthen its stewardship role as an asset owner.

As a part of the service, Minerva will be developing a bespoke voting policy which aligns with the LPFA’s net zero objectives and targets to decarbonise real world emissions. Voting rights are exercised by Local Pensions Partnership (LPPI) as delegated manager of the LPFA’s pooled Global Equities. Minerva’s analysis provides the LPFA with independent evidence of how LPPI’s voting actions support common net zero priorities. The voting policy will be used to generate analysis of each vote LPPI undertakes at each shareholder meeting. 

LPFA’s Responsible Investment Manager, Paul Hewitt, said: “The UK Stewardship Code calls on asset owners like us to monitor their asset managers so it’s essential that we can evidence how our investments are managed in alignment with our stewardship strategy and policies. 

Our strong commitment to net zero and good stewardship means we have a responsibility to make sure we do our bit to understand how our managers are aligning with that commitment and we take these responsibilities seriously. This partnership with Minerva will support us in doing that systematically and it’s an important step for us in preparing for alignment with the Stewardship Code in future.” 

Sarah Wilson, CEO at Minerva Analytics, said: “As a founding signatory of the Net Zero Financial Services Providers Alliance (NZFSPA), fostering good stewardship practices lies at the heart of Minerva’s mission. We are delighted to be working with the LPFA once again and particularly alongside our other LGPS clients, many of whom are successful Stewardship Code signatories. We are proud to be supporting their mandates by developing tailored voting policies which reflect their strategic investment goals and priorities.” 

The partnership will also give the LPFA access to specialist ESG research which will support other aspects of its active ownership programme, including as a member of the IIGCC’s Net Zero Engagement Initiative.