Pensionsinvested in tobacco, alcohol and nuclear weapons

Ironically, Raytheon Systems Limited (RSL) left Londonderry in 2010 after a series of high profile protests against their presence in the city but almost half-a-million pounds have been invested in the firm’s parent company, Raytheon on behalf of public sector workers across Northern Ireland, including thousands of workers in the North West.

Many local council workers, alongside staff at Ilex, WELB, NIHE, Magee, City of Derry Airport, NWRC, Ulsterbus and some local schools are contributing to a Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC) pension fund which has been invested in a diverse portfolio of global shares, amongst them recession proof staples such as the military industrial complex, cigarettes, alcohol and gambling.

NILGOSC Chief Executive and Secretary David Murphy told the Sentinel details of its investments are publically available and its members are aware of its requirement to maintain a diversified investment portfolio.

He said it was also “legally prevented from excluding any type of company for ethical reasons. This is not unusual as this law applies to all general pension funds.”

“NILGOSC goes above and beyond the normal stewardship of a pension fund and is one of the UK’s leading responsible investors which means that we seek to use our shareholdings to influence the companies in which we invest working with the major pension funds around the world and bodies such as the United Nations. Further details can be found at http://www.nilgosc.org.uk/Corporate%20Social%20Responsibility.htm,” the pension chief stated.

Notwithstanding this a number of the investments seem to fly in the face of stated Derry City Council policy.

The local authority has explicitly pledged to “create a climate conducive to socially responsible investment,” is committed towards the creation of a tobacco-free society and is a steadfast promoter of responsible drinking.

The Sentinel can reveal that investment managers Baillie Gifford and Wellington Managment have invested in Raytheon (£460,070; 14,500 shares) on NILGOSC’s behalf.

The NI workers’ pension pot has also been poured into Honeywell International (£808,326.52; 21,700 shares) which tests, develops and stockpiles nuclear bombs at the Pantex Plant in Texas, for the US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); and Lockheed Martin (£536,551.98; 10,700 shares) which makes submarine launched ballistic missiles amongst other military hardware products.

Two of the world’s largest tobacco companies and several major diamond mining firms have also been invested in by NILGOSC pension fund managers.

In fact the investment of the pension contributions in arms manufacturers is actually quite low in comparison to that vested in multinational tobacco giants. Overall, NILGO have over £40m invested in British American Tobacco - the owner of Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall; and over £10m invested in the Imperial Tobacco Group - owner of Drum, Gitanes, Golden Virginia and Lambert and Butler.

A spokesperson for Derry City Council said pension contributions are paid directly to NILGOSC to be managed and surplus funds are invested to earn an income to meet current and future liabilities of the scheme.

“Investments are restricted to asset classes generally recognised as appropriate for UK pension funds and is a matter for NILGOSC and its investment advisers,” the spokesperson stated.

Other major investments include £58.5m in the BG Group (British Gas outside the UK); £45.9m and £33.4m respectively in diamond, metal and coal miners Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton; £30.7m and £28.3m respectively in the Standard Chartered and HSBC banks; and £23.3m in oil company Royal Dutch Shell.

Money has also been poured into bookmakers William Hill (£5.4m) and brewer Carlsberg (£3.9m).