The number of schemes which have been a lead plaintiff or active participant doubled from 10% last year to 23%, while those which have never taken part in a class action fell from 28% to 15%.
David Paterson, NAPF head of corporate governance, said: “The rise in the participation of pension funds in class actions shows that they have become more effective in monitoring their entitlement to settlements and in holding their agents to account.”
He added: “In the current economic climate we expect the trend of increasing shareholder litigation to continue.”
The NAPF has encouraged funds to keep an eye on class actions, which predominantly occur in the USA, and last year published a guide for trustees on securities litigation.
The NAPF surveyed pension funds with more than £1bn under management when compiling the data and received responses from 53 funds with combined assets of more than £300bn.
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