Pension funds appoint research providers

A large French pension fund has chosen Paris-based rating agency Vigeo and Munich-based research provider oekom to assist in developing a new SRI policy.

ERAFP (Établissement de Retraite Additionnelle de la Fonction Publique), which manages the supplementary pension scheme for 4.6 million civil servants, intends to manage €8billion ($10.2bn, £5.4bn) along SRI lines by 2010, starting with a fund of €1.5bn and eventually covering all its assets.

Philippe Caila, director of ERAFP, said the policy would emphasize 'human rights, social progress, social democracy, environment, good governance and transparency' and bring the fund into line with 'the values ... of the public service'.

Vigeo and oekom, which won the Europe-wide tender, will devise a policy and framework for all equity investments and bonds, support ERAFP in implementing the policy, and provide extra-financial research for all investment classes. Vigeo will work on stocks, oekom on bonds.

Ethical Investment Research Services, Trucost and Vigeo are to provide extra-financial analysis for the French Reserve Fund, FRR. Trucost will assess environmental risk across the pension fund's €17.9bn global equity portfolio, while Vigeo will monitor European equities for exposure to breaches of basic human rights, the quality of companies' environmental and human resource management and their record on consumer rights. Eiris has been asked to produce a report on how companies eligible for the global portfolio comply with international covenants, in particular those linked to respect for human rights.