Sooner or later, everyone stops smoking

I'm grateful to the Freedom of Information inquisitor who asked how much Cornwall Council punts on tobacco companies in its staff pension fund. The answer posted yesterday on the council's website: £24,541,713.

British American Tobacco and Imperial are the main deals, in a total pot of more than £1.1bn. The person who posed this question also wanted to know the council's policy on ethical investment and I'm happy to dig out the answer, buried as it is deep within last year's Annual Report:

Socially responsible investment (SRI)
The Pensions Committee recognises that fund managers must consider social, environmental and ethical issues when choosing which investments to buy, keep or sell. In considering these issues, the fund managers must invest in the best interest of the Fund. The Pensions Committee believe that the best way to deal with any concerns is for fund managers to contact the directors of listed companies. The fund managers act in the best interest of the Fund when voting on the Fund's behalf at shareholder meetings. Any issues that could cause disagreement at shareholder meetings are reported back to the Pensions Committee meetings, which are held every three months. The reports also include any SRI issues that the fund managers have considered.

The council's Pensions Committee meets next month.