Campaigner against arms industry is board member at major pension fund
A leading campaigner against 'controversial' weapons makers sits on the board of Britain's largest pensions scheme.
Catherine Howarth – one of 14 board members at the National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) – is chief executive of campaign group ShareAction, which seeks to prevent investment in fossil fuels and some types of armaments.
Ms Howarth is responsible for helping to set the 'strategic direction' of Nest, a government-run scheme which manages the pensions of 13.5m people across Britain.
It comes as Britain scrambles to rearm in the face of Russian aggression, with experts concerned that a lack of support from the City is holding the defence industry back.
Grant Shapps, a former Tory defence secretary, said: 'Our defence industry protects the very freedoms that allow these campaigners to protest in the first place. Weakening it is not just reckless, it's dangerous.'
ShareAction was first formed in 2005 out of a campaign by the student activist group People & Planet. Under Ms Howarth's leadership, it has put pressure on leading British investors over their financing of the arms industry.
Ms Howarth – who was also previously a board member at the Scott Trust, owner of the Guardian newspaper – has personally voiced support for moves by big investors to withdraw funds from weapons makers that manufacture 'controversial weapons,' including cluster munitions.
Although these are banned in many countries' armed forces, including those of the UK, they are legal in the US and have been used by Ukraine to resist the Russian invasion.
Sir Ben Wallace, who served as defence secretary from 2019 to 2023, said: 'British defence companies help keep the men and women of our armed forces safe, and the more investment from British pension funds, the less likely we will have to be dependent on foreign nations who may not share liberals' values.'
Ms Howarth joined ShareAction in 2008, having previously worked as the lead organiser at local campaign group West London Citizens, which she founded in 2000.
As ShareAction's chief executive, she has personally supported calls on investors, including HSBC, to withdraw funding from makers of 'controversial weapons'.
ShareAction has also led calls for Britain's top investors to stop funding arms manufacturers. The charity was initially formed out of People & Planet's campaign for the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) to adopt an ethical investing strategy.
In 2020, the USS, which manages £78bn of pensions savings on behalf of university workers, divested from companies that make landmines, white phosphorus and cluster munitions, in a move celebrated by ShareAction and Ms Howarth as a victory.
Ms Howarth first joined Nest's board in November 2024, having previously praised the pensions scheme's own efforts to avoid investing in cluster bombs. In a tweet from 2017, Ms Howarth said: 'Good to know @shareactionuk's pension fund, @nestpensions, has no holdings in cluster bomb makers. Quite right too.'
Alongside her position at ShareAction, Ms Howarth also joined the committee that advises the Financial Conduct Authority on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and acts as a member of the Treasury's task force on asset management.
Nest manages £43.5bn of investments, many on behalf of workers at small businesses. The organisation actively seeks to avoid 'investing in companies directly involved in the production or sale of cluster weapons, anti-personnel landmines or chemical and biological weapons.'
The pensions company, which was set up to facilitate auto-enrolment pensions in 2008, also has two ESG-focused funds, with £390m in assets that shun any investment in arms companies entirely.
Nest currently has around £610m invested in companies that make defence equipment including BAE Systems, Airbus and Rolls-Royce.
Mr Shapps said: 'Our military strength underpins our national security, our alliances and our democracy. Without it, we leave ourselves vulnerable while adversaries continue to arm themselves.'
Brendan McCafferty, Nest's chairman, said: 'Catherine is a fantastic addition to Nest's board. Her expertise on stewardship and responsible investment is second to none, demonstrated by her membership on the FCA's sustainable finance committee and Treasury's asset management taskforce.
'I look forward to continuing working with Catherine, drawing on her expertise as we shape an investment strategy that helps millions of UK workers enjoy a more secure and comfortable retirement.'
A Shareaction spokesman said: 'Catherine Howarth was asked to join Nest's board bringing years of experience of financial stewardship and responsible investment to the fore including membership on the FCA's Sustainable Finance Committee and Treasury's Asset Management Taskforce. As a Nest trustee, Catherine does not have day-to-day involvement in decisions at Nest, notably investment decisions, and Catherine does not serve on the Nest Invest board either.
'While the current geopolitical landscape is driving a reassessment of the defence sector, responsible investment in the arms sector needs rigorous examination of potential impacts on issues from human rights to polluting the environment in order to manage legal and reputational risks.
'At a minimum, a responsible investment approach requires strict avoidance of controversial weapons regulated by international conventions. For conventional weapons investment, any institutional investor should conduct enhanced due diligence on the human rights impacts of the company and should engage them on such impacts.'
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