Hackney Council is planning to remove Russia-linked stocks from its pension fund following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
With the growing concern over the presence of Russian money in London, Hackney Council’s decision follows similar plans made by other London councils.
Cllr Robert Chapman (Labour), Chair of the Pensions Committee and Cabinet Member for Finance said, “The invasion of Ukraine has horrified us all; we stand united with the people of Ukraine. At this time of extraordinary crisis and global action, we have taken the unprecedented step of looking to divest from stocks in Russia – of which we have a small exposure of approximately 0.05% via pooled investment vehicles.
“Not only is this a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian nation but is also to ensure our money – no matter how little – cannot be used anywhere that may benefit the Russian regime. We will work with our fund managers to divest from the holdings as soon as is practicable.”
Unlike other London councils, however, Hackney is yet to release the total amount of pension fund holdings in Russian companies. Camden Council have said they hold £6 million in Russian Investments and Islington Council said they have over £1 million. Both councils said they plan to divest the assets.
A spokesperson for the Hackney Liberal Democrats Darren Martin, said: “Hackney Council, as usual, has been difficult. They’ve just been silent on how much is actually invested in any Russian investments.”
Martin said that he, and many from his party, have written to the council multiple times to find out the total holdings in Russian stocks, but are yet to receive a response.
“It’s an important thing to do in terms of solidarity with Ukraine, but also the exposure to Russian sanctions means that in terms of financial return for people that rely on that pension fund, it’s something that needs to happen quickly because those investments are going to be dud pretty soon.”
“It’s a complicated issue because the councillors don’t run the fund, but there needs to be more transparency. They [Hackney Council] need to confirm what the issue is, how much they’re exposed by, and what they’re doing to deal with that situation. They should have done that before.”
The Hackney Post has repeatedly asked for a response from Hackney Council and its total amount of pension fund holdings in Russian stocks, but has yet to receive a reply.
