Pension investors deserve to know how their money is being used

Interactive investor comments on Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak's letter urging pension funds to back UK-based long-term assets, such as green infrastructure.

In response to the letter from the prime minister and chancellor to institutional investors published yesterday (Aug 4), asking them to commit more of their customers’ pension funds to UK-based long-term assets, such as green infrastructure, 

Becky O’Connor, Head of Pensions and Savings, interactive investor, the flat-fee pension platform, said: “Pension savers might feel dubious about their money being used to support a UK recovery and be wondering whether this will compromise their life savings. It absolutely shouldn’t. We need to build back better and people also need bigger retirement pots and the two things can go hand-in-hand. Some institutional investors are doing this already.

“The primary duty of pension fund managers remains to deliver a good return to customers so they can retire with a decent income. This can be achieved through the kind of investments the government is suggesting, such as green infrastructure. A win-win is possible over the long term. But it can be easier to make the wrong decisions with other people’s money, too.

“Transparent communication about what people’s hard-earned money is being invested in and the associated risk levels will be more important than ever. People deserve to know how their money is being used and reassured that it is doing the right thing for them.

“With a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP), investors can have as much control as they want over the funds and companies benefiting from their cash.”