Hermes Investment Management has today announced that its stewardship and engagement team, Hermes EOS, has been appointed by LGPS Central Limited to provide voting and engagement services.

LGPS Central Limited, one of eight pooling vehicles across England and Wales, is currently responsible for the management and stewardship of nearly £14bn of assets for nine midlands-based Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds; Cheshire, Leicestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Worcestershire, and the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority.

Dr. Hans-Christoph Hirt, Head of Hermes EOS, said: “LGPS Central Limited’s objective to act as a responsible, long-term investor, promoting the highest standards of corporate stewardship is one that is shared by Hermes as an active steward, committed to creating long-term value for our clients. Our shared values recognising stewardship and responsible investment as a core part of an asset owner’s fiduciary duty will ensure a collaborative relationship. Our highly-skilled engagers are committed to working with LGPS Central Limited to embed a market-leading engagement programme.”

Michael Marshall, Director of Responsible Investment & Engagement at LGPS Central Limited, said: “At LGPS Central Limited, responsible investment and stewardship are at the heart of our investment process, and we believe that engaging with companies leads to improved outcomes from both a financial standpoint and from a stakeholder point of view. We hope to use our influence as a shareholder to set a high standard for the wider investment community and we believe using the expertise of Hermes EOS will help us achieve our goals.”

This is the second appointment of Hermes EOS by UK Local Government Pension Scheme pools this year, following the announcement in September that the Brunel Pension Partnership pool is to use Hermes EOS voting and engagement services. Hermes EOS is one of the world’s leading stewardship services, advising on £346.3bn1 on behalf of its clients. In 2017, the Hermes EOS team engaged with 659 companies on 1,704 environmental, social, governance, strategy, risk and communication issues and objectives.

Source: Hermes