London Council’s £7m in tobacco shares
A London council has been criticised for investing £7m in tobacco companies as part of its pension fund portfolio.
Wandsworth Council invested £4.6m in British American Tobacco and holds £2.3m of shares in Imperial Tobacco.
In a statement the council said it was its “paramount fiduciary duty to obtain the best possible financial return on its pension fund investments”.
But critics said the council should avoid tobacco firms in the same way they would arms companies.
In 2008 the council allocated £528,000 to the NHS Stop Smoking Scheme and managed to get 1,233 people to quit, surpassing its target of 1,225 people.
This year it has increased its budget to £628,000 and hopes to get 1,256 people to stop smoking.
The council said investment decisions were taken independently.
‘Wrong strategy’
Opposition Labour Councillor Tony Belton said: “The strategy is wrong. They have a strategy to improve the health and welfare of the people of Wandsworth and investing in tobacco companies seems to be an odd way to go about it.”
Amanda Sandford, from the charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) said: “I think there is a clear inconsistency there.
“If the council have decided not to invest in arms why are they investing in tobacco or effectively propping up an industry that produces products that kill people?”
In a statement Wandsworth Council said: “These investments are managed by independent fund managers who invest in hundreds of different companies.
“They must ensure that any investments are not just in the best interests of the members, but that they also take into account social, environmental and other issues.”
David McCourt, from the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF), said: “Trustees of pension funds have to invest on the basis of benefits.”
Copyright © 2009, 17 August Bbc
