Mark Fawcett, CIO of the UK's National Employment Savings Trust (NEST), said that pension funds must cooperate on engagement to ensure banking institutions showing "little remorse" over multi-billion-dollar fines are held to account.
Fawcett added that this was essentially $100 billion in funds taken away from investors, including pension funds, and that, as defined contribution funds such as NEST were now the “genuine” long-term investors in a world of declining defined benefit funds, it was important to take the role seriously. “I’ll argue, given those sorts of numbers, that, to date, institutional investors, asset owners, fund managers – despite the best efforts of most people in this room – have failed to focus on stewardship and governance", he said.
Fawcett singled out JP Morgan joint chairman and chief executive Jamie Dimon for criticism, noting that he held both roles “against all best governance practices” and in spite of opposition from shareholders – although he noted that the percentage voicing concern had declined at the most recent annual general meeting over the previous year’s share of around 40 per cent.
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