The London Collective Investment Vehicle, which manages Waltham Forest Council’s pension fund, has not disclosed which companies it invests in have close links to Israeli military interests, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter

Pro-Palestine activists have continued to mount pressure on London councils to divest from companies linked to Israeli military interests, amid a lack of apparent progress.

Waltham Forest for a Free Palestine (WF4FP) joined a meeting of Waltham Forest Council’s pension committee this Wednesday (2nd July), more than a year on from the start of their campaign.

The responsibility for where the council’s pension funds are invested lies with the London Collective Investment Vehicle (LCIV), which manages a pool of funds belonging to the capital’s 32 borough councils.

Though councillors say they are committed to moving on to more “ethical” investments, the LCIV says it needs to balance the interests of all its partners.

Jenny Buck, the chief investment officer, said the fund had to remain “politically neutral” and consistent with messaging from the central government.

In September, the Labour government suspended 30 arms exports licences to Israel over concerns about their use in military operations in Gaza.

Following last night’s meeting, a WF4FP spokesperson said: “Despite the popular London and nation-wide movement for [Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)] divestment, it seems LCIV representatives will only do what the UK government or the capitalist companies they work with tell them to.

“They won’t even do what the Waltham Forest pension committee has been telling them to do for two years, with no alternative ethical funds being offered or created.”

Councillor Keith Rayner asked whether this would prompt LCIV to divest over their “financial viability”. However, Jenny Buck said the LCIV would need to consider whether losing the contract was “material to the wider company”.

Currently, the LCIV is assessing its investments in twelve companies. The LCIV representative said she could not name them when asked by councillors, who called the lack of apparent progress frustrating.

She said some discussions had been subject to non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), while other companies were concerned about reputational harm and potential action from pro-Israel lobby groups. They are “international companies,” though she could not specify where they were headquartered.

The WF4FP spokesperson said: “Millions are still invested in companies that enable genocide and occupation in Palestine and elsewhere. Questions about the twelve most complicit companies the LCIV works with were met with excuses and evasions.”

A recent UN report, published yesterday, laid out 48 companies – including Microsoft, Alphabet Inc. and Amazon – that could be implicated in Israel’s devastating war against Hamas in Gaza.

The LCIV did not get too deeply into the details with the councillors, saying the list was “hot off the press”.

This prompted further frustration from WF4FP, who said: “We were disgusted when one LCIV representative described proven ‘genocide activity’ at complicit companies as ‘hot off the press’.”

WF4FP have been protesting at the quarterly meetings since March 2024.

Cllr Rayner added that, from speaking with councillors on other pension committees, there was a “general feeling we need to get into a more serious divestment process”.

The committee has previously been warned that any divestment cannot harm the pool’s financial health.

A separate group of protestors gathered outside the LCIV’s summer conference in the Tower of London the day after the meeting, calling for divestment from companies linked to the Israeli military.

Sarah Omar, a member of the Shake the CIV campaign, said ahead of the demonstration: “At a time when councils are strapped for cash, the CIV is splurging on a lavish day out for councillors, complete with a guided tour of the Crown Jewels, the very symbols of colonial plunder that many of these investments sustain.

“It’s an insult to Londoners and a betrayal of Palestinians suffering under genocidal companies the CIV continues to bankroll.

“We demand the London CIV divests from companies involves in genocide and war crimes, and that our councillors use their decision-making power at the CIV to make this happen.”

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