Responsible investment in the South African pension fund industry: a critical analysis

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dc.contributor.advisorDaniels, Reza Cheen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorTippoo, Ann-Mareeen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2018-11-07T13:03:54Z
dc.date.available2018-11-07T13:03:54Z
dc.date.issued2016en_ZA
dc.description.abstractSouth African regulation requires pension funds and their trustees to act in the best interest of their beneficiaries, according to their fiduciary duty. According to the preamble to Regulation 28 of the Pension Fund Act of 1956, this includes responsible investing (RI). However, the South African RI landscape, barring a few exceptions, is dominated by financial institutions other than pension funds who do not necessarily have the same legal and fiduciary imperatives. Using data gathered from semi-structured interviews with key people in the industry a grounded theory approach and content analysis this research addresses why there is limited RI action on the part of pension funds. The findings show that pension fund trustees lack understanding of RI as well as the full scope of their fiduciary duties mainly due to issues with trustee competency, resource allocation, and legacy behaviour and interpretations of legislation. Additionally, there is little accountability to both the regulators and members in this regard. The importance of addressing these reasons is brought into focus by considering the role of pension funds as constituents of the social security system, as savings institutions, as allocators of capital, and as part-owners of companies making RI consideration a natural and integral part of decision making. Based on the findings, this paper recommends appropriate training interventions for trustees, in addition to a review of trustee selection, appraisal and tenure. Furthermore, industry consolidation and agreement around RI frameworks and definitions would serve to improve understanding of RI. To improve accountability, the paper recommends the introduction of non-prescriptive, demonstrative reporting requirements. Important themes for further research include the competency of South African trustees and the development of frameworks for the understanding of RI in the industry.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationTippoo, A. (2016). <i>Responsible investment in the South African pension fund industry: a critical analysis</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,Research of GSB. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29049en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationTippoo, Ann-Maree. <i>"Responsible investment in the South African pension fund industry: a critical analysis."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,Research of GSB, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29049en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationTippoo, A. 2016. Responsible investment in the South African pension fund industry: a critical analysis. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Tippoo, Ann-Maree AB - South African regulation requires pension funds and their trustees to act in the best interest of their beneficiaries, according to their fiduciary duty. According to the preamble to Regulation 28 of the Pension Fund Act of 1956, this includes responsible investing (RI). However, the South African RI landscape, barring a few exceptions, is dominated by financial institutions other than pension funds who do not necessarily have the same legal and fiduciary imperatives. Using data gathered from semi-structured interviews with key people in the industry a grounded theory approach and content analysis this research addresses why there is limited RI action on the part of pension funds. The findings show that pension fund trustees lack understanding of RI as well as the full scope of their fiduciary duties mainly due to issues with trustee competency, resource allocation, and legacy behaviour and interpretations of legislation. Additionally, there is little accountability to both the regulators and members in this regard. The importance of addressing these reasons is brought into focus by considering the role of pension funds as constituents of the social security system, as savings institutions, as allocators of capital, and as part-owners of companies making RI consideration a natural and integral part of decision making. Based on the findings, this paper recommends appropriate training interventions for trustees, in addition to a review of trustee selection, appraisal and tenure. Furthermore, industry consolidation and agreement around RI frameworks and definitions would serve to improve understanding of RI. To improve accountability, the paper recommends the introduction of non-prescriptive, demonstrative reporting requirements. Important themes for further research include the competency of South African trustees and the development of frameworks for the understanding of RI in the industry. DA - 2016 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2016 T1 - Responsible investment in the South African pension fund industry: a critical analysis TI - Responsible investment in the South African pension fund industry: a critical analysis UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29049 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/29049
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationTippoo A. Responsible investment in the South African pension fund industry: a critical analysis. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,Research of GSB, 2016 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29049en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentResearch of GSBen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Commerceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherDevelopment Financeen_ZA
dc.titleResponsible investment in the South African pension fund industry: a critical analysisen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMComen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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