UN Pension Fund: critical need for culture transformation in investments, says UN internal audit, 15 September 2020

UN internal auditors substantiate findings of the UN Participant Representatives to the Pension Board and state that the UN Office of Investment Management is in critical need of a transformation to a harmonious, high-performing and ethical culture. (A/75/215, link to the full audit below).

 

The UN Participants to the Pension Board said the following in their recent communique to their 85,000 active UN staff constituents: 

 

"How We’re Protecting Your UN Pension – Report from the Board (September 8, 2020)

 

We highlighted critical audit findings

 

OIOS audit on OIM governance. Last year we raised the alarm on the toxic work culture, allegations of retaliation, and lack of safeguards on decision-making within the investment team, and the management of conflicts of interest. OIOS (the internal auditors) substantiated these findings. While the new RSG (Representative of the Secretary-General for Investments) has committed to addressing these we continue to be concerned about the slow rate of implementation of changes relating to behaviours that would not be acceptable in financial institutions. OIOS also recommended that OIM (the Office of Investment Management) be directed by a CIO (Chief Investments Office). We therefore believe that the position should be advertised…..

 

Our work to jmprove the management of your investments is paying off

 

The new head of the Office of Investment Management, known as the representative of the Secretary-General (RSG), presented the state of the Fund’s investments. While the current economic situation remains volatile, the Fund is in a good financial position. This is in part due to the unprecedented level of intervention of governments and central banks to maintain the high value of financial markets. Furthermore, a number of concerns we raised last year with the management of our investments are expected to be addressed by the incoming RSG (as discussed during our townhall last April. We will be following up closely.

 

With regards to environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria for investment, something you all have been vocal about, we are pleased to hear that after two years of mobilization by us based on your feedback, a policy will be finalized soon.”

Link to the audit:

https://undocs.org/pdf?symbol=en/A/75/215

See the full UN text of the Participant Representatives' communique here:

http://unpension.blogspot.com/2020/09/un-pension-fund-un-participant.html

UN Pension Fund: UN Participant Representatives -- How we are protecting your UN pension – report from the Board , Sep. 8, 2020

 September 8, 2020

 

Report from the UN Participant Representatives to the Pension Board

How we are protecting your UN pension – report from the Board // Ce que nous faisons pour proteger votre Fond de Pension – rapport du Conseil d'Administration

 

Dear UN Colleagues,

 

The Pension Board held its annual meeting in July 2020, hosted virtually in MS Teams, and as your elected representatives we, the UN Participant Representatives, would like to brief you on the outcome. While you may have seen a summary from the Pension Administration, our communiqué will provide some highlights, achievements and concerns. As you will see, while there have been some positive developments, we continue to remain vigilant and there is plenty more to do.

 

For information, the tripartite Board consists of 33 members plus alternates, with a third each elected by participants (you), appointed by executive heads and selected by organizations’ governing bodies. Within each group, 4 members come from the UN and 7 from the specialized agencies, although the UN and its staff contribute two-thirds to the Fund.

 

Our work to improve the management of your investments is paying off

 

The new head of the Office of Investment Management, known as the representative of the Secretary-General (RSG), presented the state of the Fund’s investments. While the current economic situation remains volatile, the Fund is in a good financial position. This is in part due to the unprecedented level of intervention of governments and central banks to maintain the high value of financial markets. Furthermore, a number of concerns we raised last year with the management of our investments are expected to be addressed by the incoming RSG (as discussed during our townhall last April. We will be following up closely.

 

With regards to environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria for investing, something you all have been vocal about, we are pleased to hear that after two years of mobilization by us based on your feedback, a policy will be finalized soon.

 

We prevented cuts to benefits for widows and orphans

 

The Chief Executive for Pension Administration proposed that spouses or children who were not known to the pension fund at the time a staff member was working should be deprived of a survivor benefit. We knew this would negatively impact children from relationships that a staff member might not wish to declare to their employer, as well second spouses. For this reason, we were able to convince other Board members to successfully prevent such changes.