PME

Financial Institutions, Report 2018, Runners-Up

Pensioenfonds Metalektro (PME) is the Dutch mandatory pension fund for the Dutch metal industry. PME administers pensions for more than 1,300 companies and approximately 145,000 active participants.[1] At the end of 2016, PME held over €44,5 billion in assets under management.[2]

One of PME’s ten Principles for Responsible Investing states that PME will not invest in companies involved in products that breach international agreements that the Dutch government has signed.[3] Consequently, PME excludes companies that produce nuclear weapons in violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. However, this also means that PME does not exclude companies that produce nuclear weapons for the five recognised nuclear armed countries under the treaty.[4]

PME outsources the management of its portfolio to its asset manager MN. PME requires MN to apply the exclusion policy to all the investments that it manages on PME’s behalf. These investments consist of discretionary mandates and one actively managed fund. An exception is made for some pooled vehicles or derivatives that date back to before PME’s Responsible Investment-policy was implemented.[5]

PME maintains a publicly available exclusion list, which is based on the findings of data provider Sustainalytics.[6] As of the first quarter of 2018, PME excludes Ahmedabad-Maliya Tollway; L&T Finance; L&T InfraStructure Finance; L&T Technology Services; Larsen & Toubro; Larsen & Toubro Infotech and Walchandnagar Industries for involvement in nuclear weapons.[7]

How to improve the policy:

We commend PME for adopting a public policy on nuclear weapons. We recommend PME apply its policy to all nuclear weapons associated companies regardless of their country of origin. In addition, PME should comprehensively apply the policy to both past and future investments. We look forward to engaging with PME, so a strong and comprehensively applied policy may be listed in the Hall of Fame in a future update of this report.

[1] PME, “Over PME”, website PME (https://www.metalektropensioen.nl/over-pme), viewed 23 January 2018.

[2] PME, “PRI reporting framework 2017”, available at https://reporting.unpri.org/surveys/PRI-reporting-framework-2017/B5B92DCB-CB1D-44AF-9F62-3264AD332FF8/79894dbc337a40828d895f9402aa63de/html/2/?lang=English&a=1, viewed 23 January 2018.

[3] PME, “De tien PME-principes voor verantwoord beleggen”, Principle 4, available at https://www.metalektropensioen.nl/client/pme/upload/downloads/Downloadspagina/English/VB0334E.pdf, viewed 23 January 2018.

[4] PME, “RI Transparency Report 2013/2014 Pensionfund Metalelektro”, page 15, UN PRI website (https://www.unpri.org/download_report/14684), viewed 23 January 2018.

[5] PME, “RI Transparency Report 2013/2014 Pensionfund Metalelektro”, page 17, UN PRI website (https://www.unpri.org/download_report/14684), viewed 23 January 2018.

[6] PME, written response to PAX dated 30 April 2015.

[7] PME, “Uitsluitingslijst/Exclusion List”, valid during 1st Quarter 2018, website PME (https://www.metalektropensioen.nl/client/pme/upload/downloads/Downloadspagina/Over%20PME/VB0268_uitsluitingslijst_PME.pdf?sqr=uitsluitingslijst), viewed 23 January 2018.

Last updated March 2018

 

About Maaike Beenes

Maaike Beenes works for the humanitarian disarmament program for PAX in the Netherlands. She researches investments by financial institutions in producers of controversial weapons, notably nuclear weapons and cluster munitions, and is co-author of the reports ‘Don’t Bank on the Bomb’ and ‘Worldwide Investments in Cluster Munitions’. As part of the Don’t Bank on the Bomb campaign of PAX and ICAN, she works together with campaigners around the world to hold banks and other investors accountable for their investments in nuclear and other controversial weapons. She was involved in the negotiations for the Treaty on the Prohibition on Nuclear Weapons on behalf of PAX and ICAN.