Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, Leeds, England, reappointed Robeco to provide voting and engagement services following a public procurement process, the organizations said in a joint news release Wednesday.
Those services apply to a mandate worth £20 billion ($24.2 billion) of equity assets held by Border to Coast. The largest local government pension scheme pool in the U.K. has 11 partner funds with combined assets of £60 billion as of March 31, according to the release.
Border to Coast has stepped up engagement work "significantly" in the past four years, with voting resolutions increasing to more that 12,000 in the past two years, compared to 3,000 in 2018 and 2019, the release said. Rachel Elwell, CEO, Border to Coast said in the release that it is part of an effort "to have greater influence as an active owner of the companies in which we invest."
Robeco will help Border to Coast establish successful voting and engagement practices across multiple sectors, asset classes and countries, Ms. Elwell said. Further details on the contract were not immediately available.
Border to Coast is responsible for £38.3 billion, and offers its partner funds investment opportunities across equities, fixed income and private markets. In November it launched a search for an external manager to support a new U.K. real estate fund that is expected to be £1.8 billion initially and grow to £3 billion as more partner funds invest. The real estate fund will embed active stewardship and ESG considerations, Border to Coast said in a November news release.
