British Columbia’s public sector pension fund working to sell all its Russian assets

After days of pressure from pension fund members, the B.C. Investment Management Corp. has announced it is actively working to sell all of its remaining Russian securities.

BCI manages the pensions of public servants, teachers and other public sector workers in the province.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the corporation said the selloff is in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and that it started selling its holdings in Russian securities prior to the invasion.

“BCI has not only been working to sell the Russian shares in our clients’ portfolios but also to have Russia removed from all global and emerging market indices,” said BCI’s chief executive officer Gordon Fyfe in the statement.

“We don’t normally comment publicly on our investment activities, however, given the egregious actions of Russia, it is important to make an exception.”

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An online petition has been circulating urging BCI to sell off Russian assets.

Premier John Horgan said Monday that government could not influence the independent fund but all MLAs were in support of BCI divesting Russian holdings.

2:14 B.C. public servant calling on pension plan to divest millions from Russia

The pension fund manager said some of the trading in these securities has now ground to a halt given international sanctions, trading restrictions and Russia’s ban on foreigners selling Russian securities.

It’s still unclear how much money has been invested by the fund in Russian stock and how much has already been sold.

In 2021, BC Investment Management Corp. holdings showed more than $450 million in Russian-owned companies. This includes $103.9 million worth of shares in the Russian state-owned bank Sberbank, $83.85 million in Lukoil, $32.3 million in Rosneft Oil and $19.16 million in Gazprom.

BCI said they are now working “to sell the $107 million in Russian stock that remains.”

“BCI recognizes that holding Russian securities in our portfolio is not aligned with our values as an organization nor that of our clients and our hearts go out to the people of Ukraine,” the statement reads.

“BCI is and will continue to comply with all Canadian sanctions and stands with the global financial community in our joint response to this evolving humanitarian situation.”