ACCESS Pool becomes signatory to UK Stewardship Code
ACCESS Pool, a collaboration of Central, Eastern and Southern Shires composed of 11 LGPS Administering Authorities, is delighted to announce that, it has been approved by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) as a signatory to the UK Stewardship Code 2020 (‘the Code’) as of 11 February 2025.
To become a signatory to the Code, organisations must submit to the FRC a Stewardship Report demonstrating how they have applied the Code’s 12 Principles in the previous 12 months.[1] The Stewardship Report prepared by ACCESS meets the requirements of the UK Stewardship Code and details how the Pool’s collective beliefs and policies are translated into investment decisions the Pool makes for the benefit of Administering Authority members.
To support with the report, Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (PIRC) were procured by the Pool in November 2023 to expand ESG and Responsible Investment oversight for stakeholders’ investments. The organisation collaborated effectively with the Pool to assist in its successful Stewardship Code submission, while also helping the Pool transition into a more sophisticated level of ESG reporting and integration.
Cllr Mark Kemp-Gee, Chairman of the ACCESS Pool said: “Becoming a signatory to the Stewardship Code demonstrates that ACCESS is meeting the FRC requirements and being held to ‘high stewardship standards for those investing money on behalf of UK savers and pensioners, and those that support them.’[2] The full ACCESS Pool stewardship report can be found here.
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About the ACCESS Pool
The ACCESS (A Collaboration of Central, Eastern and Southern Shires) is made of 11 LGPS Administering Authorities: Cambridgeshire County Council; East Sussex County Council; Essex County Council; Hampshire County Council; Hertfordshire County Council; Isle of Wight Council; Kent County Council; Norfolk County Council; West Northamptonshire Council; Suffolk County Council; and West Sussex County Council.
ACCESS Authorities are committed to working together and have each signed an Inter Authority Agreement, setting out how they will work together in response to the Governments pooling agenda across the LGPS, and to optimise benefits and efficiencies on behalf of their individual and collective stakeholders.
As at 31 January 2025, ACCESS’ pooled assets totalled £51bn.
[1] https://www.frc.org.uk/library/standards-codes-policy/stewardship/uk-stewardship-code-signatories/
[2] https://www.frc.org.uk/library/standards-codes-policy/stewardship/uk-stewardship-code/