The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) sold nearly £80 million of Israeli assets after increasing pressure from its members, according to a Financial Times report on Thursday.
The USS is the largest private pension fund in the UK, worth around £80 billion, and has more than 500,000 members.
The FT reported that USS has sold off assets, including government debt and currency, since March, but had been winding down investments for at least six months.
The report said that sustained pressure from USS members had contributed to the move, with many of the members being concerned over the war in Gaza.
Most USS members are higher education sector workers at prominent universities such as Oxford and Cambridge.
Increased risk in Middle East assets
The USS said in its most recent report that it had reduced its investments in the Middle East “in response to the financial risks that became apparent.”
The University and College Union (UCU) raised concerns with USS over its investments in Israel, in particularly in companies on the UN watchlist of those in breach of international law.
The UCU applauded the move to drop the investments, saying, “We welcome what they have done by disposing of Israeli government bonds and currency, but we want them to go further and divest the companies that are supporting the Israeli government in its conflict in Gaza.”
The USS is only the latest in a series of European pension funds to pull out of Israel, with Norway’s KLP and Denmark’s Pension Denmark withdrawing their investments.
The FT also reported that pressure is being placed on the UK’s public pension funds to pull their investments due to the conflict.
These pullouts have presented an opportunity for less risk-averse investors to buy up the newly available assets, with FT reporting that local councils in the US have eagerly bought up Israeli government bonds.
