Asset Owners Network
The A4S Asset Owners Network is a grouping of chairs of pension funds, their pooling partners, investment committees and endowments. Covering both defined benefit and defined contribution schemes from multi-employer and large single employer schemes within both the private and public sector.
The focus of the A4S Asset Owners Network is on the role of pension fund chairs and trustees and how they can adapt to, and scale up adoption of, good practice. The Network coordinates with other investor groups and stakeholders to avoid duplicating our efforts.
The Networks’ purpose is to:
- Enable members to come together to discuss environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations in a confidential and informal setting, observing the Chatham House Rule.
- Translate this dialogue and debate into focused and measurable group and individual action. The objective is to help to deliver a sustainable financial system capable of supporting the achievement of the Paris Agreement and wider UN Sustainable Development Goals.
While the Asset Owners Network has been a UK-only Network since its inception in 2018, A4S are establishing a European Chapter of the Asset Owners Network in 2024, with the inaugural meeting taking place in the Spring.
To find out more about joining the UK or European Chapter of the Asset Owners Network, please email info@a4s.org.
The value of the A4S Asset Owners Network
Our members value:
- Being a chair-only network, providing a unique and valuable space to share and have peer-to-peer discussions without the presence of asset managers or commercially-interested representatives.
- Increasing network members’ confidence and knowledge, enhancing their engagement with their own investment managers and advisers on embedding sustainability into the investment decision process.
- Enabling growth of knowledge within their pension funds through the topics and ideas discussed and expert presentations made.
- The educational resources and peer examples available in the A4S ESG toolkit for Pension Chairs and Trustees.
- The opportunity to leverage the collective voice of the pension chair community as key influencers across the investment chain, in order to further advance the integration of sustainability.
Russell Picot, Chair of the HSBC Bank (UK) Pension Scheme and Chair of A4S’s Asset Owners Network
“The A4S Asset Owner Network has provided me with a unique space to explore – in an open and non-commercial setting – some of the most significant challenges that I face as a chair of a large pension scheme. Some of the most important issues that we are now facing are in relation to long term systemic risks such as climate change and loss of nature. The great strength of the network is that all of the board chairs openly share their thinking and strategies which is particularly valuable for tackling these emerging issues where there are no proven strategies or answers that can be readily adopted."
