LONDON, 9 March 2022 – Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm, has announced that it is working in the UK with the impact-focused financial technology firm Tumelo to help members of The Aon MasterTrust learn more about the underlying companies in which their pension is invested and how those companies are acting on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.
Tumelo has developed software which gives investors visibility of the companies in which they are invested and enables them to engage on issues about which they may care, such as gender equality or climate change.
Tumelo is available to members of The Aon MasterTrust through an area of the member website devoted to investing responsibly. It enables members to see and explore the companies that they are invested in through the default funds, and allows them to learn of upcoming shareholder votes and to share their views on these. The software then collects the voting preference of users, informs the fund managers ahead of a company’s annual general meeting and reports back to members.
Tony Pugh, partner and EMEA Defined Contribution solutions leader at Aon, said:
“ESG concerns have become increasingly prominent in the last couple of years but the means by which individual pension investors could be engaged with their investments have been relatively limited. It’s great that we can offer this opportunity to members of The Aon MasterTrust to be able to learn more about important issues and share their views.
“We are seeing far more awareness from scheme members about ESG-related matters and an increasing demand to have a better understanding of how and where their funds are invested. We are therefore very pleased that Tumelo can give them that level of oversight and the ability to engage and make better decisions.”
Georgia Stewart, chief executive officer at Tumelo, said:
“Tumelo was founded with the express purpose of giving investors greater transparency on where their money is invested and empowering them to participate in shareholder voting. We are working closely with fund managers around the world to ensure members’ voices are being considered and are used to influence positive change at companies.
“I am excited that The Aon MasterTrust can now allow its members to see and take control of the companies they are invested in. Overall, I am proud of the progress made in the UK pensions industry, having wholeheartedly sought to engage and empower millions of pension members with technologies like Tumelo’s Shareholder Platform.”
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