Most local government pension fund managers support investment that can achieve positive social benefits as well as financial returns, according to a survey.
The survey by Alpha Real Capital found that 98% UK Local Government Pension Scheme fund professionals agreed investing in social infrastructure provided a positive social impact.
Around two-thirds look for managers with a dual focus approach delivering positive, measurable social impact alongside a financial return.
This shows most LGPS fund professionals believe they can achieve social impact without sacrificing returns, according to the survey’s authors.
The research also found that asset managers were able to quantify social impact.
More than nine out of 10 respondents said they receive satisfactory social metrics from their investment managers.
However, almost half of LGPS fund professionals said a lack of meaningful data was their main challenge when attempting to meet the challenges of environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting.
In the survey nearly two-fifths said their biggest obstacle was a lack of standardised reporting, while the remaining 14% identified a lack of suitable benchmark data as a hinderance to ESG reporting.
