Active ownership

An active, universal owner

We are in a privileged position to operate on behalf of our members. Our members don't retire into a pension fund, but the world and local communities around them. We have a duty to engage and collaborate in a meaningful way to drive positive outcomes for them.

Railpen is a universal owner and has a best-in-class, fully integrated approach to achieving both financial and sustainability outcomes for members.

Sustainable ownership is our approach to incorporating sustainability issues, like climate change or executive pay, into the investments we manage on members' behalf.

We believe that investing members' and employers' contributions in well-run companies that seek to address all the risks and opportunities facing their business model is the best way to protect and increase the value of members' savings. These risks and opportunities include environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues such as climate change or the company's approach to its employees' health and safety and representation.

Ultimately, we want businesses and society to thrive and positively influence the creation of a better world for our members to retire in.

The Sustainable Ownership team conducts in-depth research and creates clear roadmaps for our engagement, utilising the wide range of stewardship tools at our disposal.

Collaboration is central to our approach and ensures our engagement has the most impact to drive long-term collective change. We believe that the role of public policy advocacy is an increasingly important part of being a responsible investor.

Our award-winning Sustainable Ownership team works on three focus areas:

• Integration
• Stewardship
• Climate Transition

You can read more about our work in our Sustainable Ownership Reports below.

You can also watch our video which explains how Railpen considers and acts upon ESG issues - as explained in our annual Sustainable Ownership Member Review, as well as providing an update on our work on members' behalf in 2023

Action-orientated

We actively vote in AGMs and engage with policy and regulation makers, as well as the global industry. You can learn more about our engagement in the knowledge hub.

Voting records