The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), the UK’s largest private pension fund, has sold nearly £80 million worth of Israeli assets after facing pressure from its members. The Financial Times reported this decision on Thursday. USS, which is valued at around £80 billion and has over 500,000 members mainly from the higher education sector, has been reducing its investments in Israeli assets since March.
These assets include government debt and currency. The pension fund cited “financial risks that became apparent” as the main reason for decreasing its investments in the Middle East region, according to its most recent report.
Selling Israeli assets amid pressure
The University and College Union (UCU) had raised concerns about USS’s investments in Israel, especially in companies on the UN watchlist for violating international law. UCU spokesperson Dolly Hart said, “We welcome what they have done by disposing of Israeli government bonds and currency, but we want them to go further and divest from companies that are supporting the Israeli government in its conflict in Gaza.”
USS joins a growing list of European pension funds that have withdrawn their investments from Israel. Norway’s KLP and Denmark’s Pension Denmark have also pulled out their investments.
The ongoing conflict has led to increasing pressure on UK public pension funds to take similar actions. Interestingly, these divestments have opened up opportunities for investors who are willing to take on more risk. Local councils in the US are reportedly eager to purchase the newly available Israeli government bonds.
- JPost.”Largest private British pension fund dumps Israeli assets after pressure from members – report”.
- YnetNews.”Largest UK pension fund divests from Israel amid war”.
- FT.”UK’s biggest private pension fund dumps £80mn of Israeli assets”.