Council Chiefs Invest ₤900k of Pension Pot in Tobacco Firm

Source from:  Tobacco World 09/29/2010

ENFIELD COUNCIL finance bosses have invested nearly ₤900,000 of its pension fund in a tobacco firm, it was revealed yesterday. The money was invested last November in British American Tobacco, the firm that produces cigarettes such as Lucky Strike and Dunhill. The ₤887,000 invested was from the council's pension fund for local authority employees, such as street cleaners and social workers. Phillip Chard, director of operations at the charity Pro Cancer Research Fund, based in Aldermans Hill, Palmers Green, said: "I come from a commercial background so I understand that to get money you need to collaborate with organisations you may not agree with, but you need to draw the line somewhere. "I don't agree with smoking; it is the most ridiculous thing. It is a very difficult issue, and I know that the tax from cigarettes helps to fund the NHS, but I don't agree with the council's decision. It is misguided because of the number of cancer patients in the borough. It is a silly thing for them to do and I hope they regret their decision. "There are other investment opportunities especially with green companies and also in research, issues that take us forward and do not kill everybody." Paul Bishop, branch secretary for Enfield Unison said: "We would like the pension fund to review its policy and will be raising this at the next pension fund meeting." Councillor Toby Simon, chairman of the council's pension board, said: "Our policy has in the past been to give investment managers discretion in choosing our shares. However I did query the BAT investment with them at our last review meeting before the election and we will be reviewing our investment policies in the coming months." Enditem