The Chair of the Rhondda Cynon Taf Pension Fund Committee has reaffirmed that the Committee will continue to make investment decisions in accordance with its legal and fiduciary duties, following correspondence from UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) concerning a Council motion calling for divestment relating to Israel.
The Council Motion
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council (RCTCBC) passed a motion on 4 March 2026 to call on the Wales Pension Partnership (WPP) to complete the formulation and implementation of an exclusion policy, to review its investments, to consider divestments, and to ensure there are strong checks prior to investments as to whether any of the companies are complicit in war crimes.
The motion cited claims made by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and asserted that “public sector pension fund investments should not fund war crimes, human rights violations, or the potential breaking of international law regardless of how profitable they are”.
The motion expressed the Council’s wish “in strong terms that it does not wish to be associated with companies complicit in war crimes”.
Significantly, however, the motion expressly acknowledged that investment decisions are made by its Pension Committee independently of its political structures.
Fiduciary Duties
Following the motion, UKLFI wrote to members of the Rhondda Pension Fund Committee emphasising that any investment decisions must be taken independently and in accordance with established legal principles governing Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds.
UKLFI pointed out that those responsible for investing LGPS funds have fiduciary duties to maximise the return on investment consistently with prudence; and that they may only take non-financial considerations into account where there is a high level of member support and no risk of significant financial detriment to the fund.
UKLFI noted that PSC’s divestment targets constituted 4.9% of the total value of the Rhondda Pension Fund. They included the two largest holdings, namely Alphabet (Google’s parent company) and Amazon, both of which are alleged by PSC to be complicit in war crimes committed by Israel. The shares of both these companies appreciated strongly in the last year, so following PSC’s advice would have been significantly detrimental to the fund and a serious breach of fiduciary duty.
The Pension Fund Committee’s Response
Councillor Jayne Smith, Chair of the Rhondda Cynon Taf Pension Committee, replied to UKLFI stating:
“I can assure you that my fellow committee members and I are fully aware of our fiduciary responsibilities with regard to the Fund and will continue to make decisions in line with our legal responsibilities, terms of reference and appropriate governance arrangements.”
Councillor Smith further noted that the Fund’s investments are managed through the Wales Pension Partnership (WPP) and referred to the WPP’s recently updated Responsible Investment Policy.
WPP’s Responsible Investment Policy
This policy states that “WPP is usually most effective as an investor engaging for change from within” and that “we prefer investment to exclusion”.
The policy specifies some exclusions, namely companies deriving material revenues from thermal coal or unconventional oil or gas reserves, producers of controversial weapons, and companies persistently breaching the UN Global Compact where engagement has demonstrated that there is no immediate prospect of improvement.
Notably, the policy does not provide for exclusions of companies because of alleged links to Israel or territories administered by Israel. Instead, it stresses stewardship, engagement and evidence-based assessment of investment risks.
UKLFI Chief Executive, Jonathan Turner, said “We welcome Councillor Smith’s confirmation that the Rhondda Pension Committee understands and intends to comply with the applicable fiduciary obligations. Her response is an important reminder that, while councils are entitled to express political views, those responsible for administering pension funds must make investment decisions independently and in accordance with the law, not political pressure or partisan campaigns.”