Putting a stronger corporate governance culture into practice

Two new initiatives designed to support the ownership role of pension funds and continue to support raising corporate governance standards in the UK will be launched today by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF).

New guidance¹, “Pension Funds and the ISC Code – A practical guide” sets out how the Code’s Principles, covering shareholder engagement and reporting, can be applied in practice. It encourages pension funds to incorporate effective engagement monitoring into their fund manager reviews helping to build a stronger corporate governance culture.  

The NAPF has also established a dedicated corporate governance service, Corporate Governance PensionsConnection², for funds and investment managers to give them access to expert thinking on a broad range of corporate governance issues.

Both form part of the NAPF’s role in promoting good corporate governance and supporting the ownership responsibilities of pension funds. They are being launched at the NAPF Corporate Governance Seminar³ .

David Paterson, NAPF's Head of Corporate Governance said:

“These two practical initiatives aim to promote a stronger corporate governance culture and thus help to protect and enhance the value of the investments that funds oversee on behalf of their members.

“The NAPF has been at the forefront of raising standards in corporate governance for many years and we actively encourage funds to monitor the companies in which they invest. The new guidance and Corporate Governance PensionsConnection will support funds in their role as responsible owners.”     

 

Pension Funds and the ISC Code – A Practical Guide   

Pension funds have made considerable efforts to raise standards of corporate governance and to advance policy improvements. This practical guide will assist pension funds in applying and understanding their obligations under the Institutional Shareholders’ Committee (ISC) Code, launched in November 2009 ^4.    

It is intended that funds which apply the Code will be listed on the ISC website, as will the investment management firms. The NAPF suggests that funds use the ISC list when reviewing managers or considering new appointments.

 

Corporate Governance PensionsConnection   

Giving members direct access to the latest developments and thinking on corporate governance, the benefits of the new service include:   

• A specialist website – including online polls, surveys, presentations and a discussion forum.

• Invitations to regular speaker evenings and breakfast meetings with key industry speakers.

• Quarterly newsletters – featuring latest news, views and interviews.

• Free subscriptions to NAPFnews and PolicyWatch, the NAPF’s fortnightly pensions e-newsletter.

Corporate Governance PensionsConnection is the latest service from the NAPF which also supports trustees, HR professionals and finance directors, those running DC schemes and those involved in local authority schemes through the information service.  Members can join any of the PensionsConnection services, at www.napf.co.uk/PensionsConnection

 

Notes to Editors

1. Pension Funds and the ISC Code – A Practical Guide is freely available on the NAPF web-site at www.napf.co.uk/Policy/Governance.cfm
2. Pension funds and investment managers can register for the Corporate Governance PensionsConnection at napf.co.uk/pensionsconnection
3. Further details of the NAPF’s Corporate Governance seminar can be found at http://www.napf.co.uk/seminars/corporategovernance.cfm
4. The ISC Code can be found at http://www.institutionalshareholderscommittee.org.uk/library.html