UK – State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) and Friends Ivory & Sime (FI&S) have announced a joint venture project to provide index-tracking funds with a specific socially responsible investment (SRI) overlay to UK pension funds.

The new alliance, a services agreement to be managed through SSgA’s London-based passive equity team, means FI&S’s Responsible Engagement Overlay (REO) programme, which covers over £20bn (€32bn) in assets, can be applied to SSgA’s segregated passive equity strategy and its relevant passive equity pension fund pooling vehicles.

Though practically targeted at UK pension funds, which form FI&S’ core client-base, and despite over £4bn of its £19bn assets coming from giant Dutch pension fund PGGM, the project actually covers the UK, Europe and the US, and could be extended through SSgA’s wider institutional client and geographical base.



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