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Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds in the UK are investing billions of pounds in firms linked to companies which arm or equip Israel with weapons or equipment, potentially used by the Israeli state in Palestine.
Palestine Solidarity Campaign has released updated research revealing that Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds, administered by local authorities across Britain, invest over £12billion in companies they say are “enabling Israel’s genocide, military occupation and apartheid against Palestinians.”
The research, obtained through Freedom of Information requests, details the investments of 81 LGPS funds in companies which produce weapons and military technology used in Israel’s attacks on Palestinians; provide services or infrastructure that supports Israel’s unlawful military occupation; or conduct activity in Israel’s illegal settlements on Palestinian land.
The West Yorkshire Pension Fund has significantly larger total investments in PSC-criticised firms than others, with over £1 billion in total value, followed by Greater Manchester Pension Fund with £905 million.
Collectively, LGPS funds invest over £450million in BAE Systems, which manufactures components for Israel’s F-15, F-16, and F-35 fighter jets used to bomb Gaza. Over £80million is invested in Caterpillar, which manufactures bulldozers used by Israel to demolish Palestinian homes, schools and hospitals.
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Over £90million is invested in RTX Corporation, formerly Raytheon, which produces 4000-pound GBU-28 bombs used by the Israeli military.
For the first time, PSC’s research identifies investments in Amazon and Alphabet Inc (Google). This totals £4.7billion, nearly 40% of the value of all investments listed. Both companies work together to provide cloud computing infrastructure to the Israeli military and government, dubbed Project Nimbus.
In addition, the research shows LGPS funds hold over £28million in Israel government bonds, therefore lending Israel money to carry out its atrocities.
The research comes as campaigns calling for the divestment on LGPS funds from companies enabling Israel’s human rights abuses continue to gather momentum. Earlier this month, Tower Hamlets Council passed a motion committing to divest its pension fund from arms companies, following a strong local campaign. While Bristol City Council has called for Avon Pension Fund to divest from arms companies, and companies active in Israel’s illegal settlements.
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Lewis Backon, Campaigns Officer for PSC told Byline Times: “The scale of LGPS fund investments in companies that are complicit in Israel’s grave abuses of Palestinian rights is shocking. The deferred wages of millions of local government workers are going into companies enabling Israel’s war crimes, without their consent.
“But workers and residents are making it increasingly clear that they won’t accept their pension funds being used to fund companies complicit in genocide and apartheid. We’re only one month into 2025 but already Tower Hamlets Council has committed to divest from arms companies, while Bristol City Council has voted to call on Avon Pension Fund to divest from companies enabling Israel’s crimes.”
He added: “This year will see the LGPS Divest campaign grow as a force for justice for Palestine – divestment from Israel’s crimes is a moral and legal imperative that cannot be ignored.”
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The top 10 pension funds with PSC-criticised investments by total value:
- West Yorkshire Pension Fund: £1.09 billion
- Greater Manchester Pension Fund: £905 million
- South Yorkshire Pension Fund: £483 million
- West Midlands Pension Fund: £465 million
- Lancashire Pension Fund: £439 million
- London Pension Fund Authority: £358 million
- Hampshire Pension Fund: £336 million
- Devon Pension Fund: £288 million
- East Riding Pension Fund: £262 million
- Teesside Pension Fund: £256 million
Defending their investment portfolio, a spokesperson for South Yorkshire Pensions Authority said: “As one of the largest funds in the Local Government Pension Scheme it should be unsurprising that the South Yorkshire Pension Fund has large holdings in several large multi-national companies.
“The holdings identified are managed by the Border to Coast Pensions Partnership who engage both directly and in collaboration with other investors with companies to ensure that they are making appropriate assessments of the implications of their operations in conflict affected areas.”
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They added that “decisions about the risk to the value of investments caused by any aspect of a company’s Environmental, Social or Governance activities needs to reflect the financial materiality of the issue.” In other words, questions of ethics need to be balanced against potential financial gains to be had.
The pension fund spokesperson went on to say that revenues for the companies listed from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories are “unlikely to be financially material in making decisions about whether to invest in or disinvest from any of the companies listed.”
And they defended investments in arms firms, noting: “It is also the case that companies exporting arms and military technology do so under very strict licensing conditions imposed by domestic governments. Therefore, to disinvest from companies acting in a legally sanctioned way would be an unreasonable decision for a pension fund to take.”
The spokesperson concluded: “The situation in Gaza is undoubtedly a human tragedy. However, a pension fund is required to act in the best financial interests of its scheme members and in doing so while it may consider the risks which non-financial factors pose to the value of investments it may not take decisions for political reasons, which is what is being suggested here.”
The companies named were contacted for comment.
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