A Welsh pension fund just became the first to ditch investments “linked to the Israeli state’s genocide”

Campaigners have called a decision by the Clwyd Pension Fund to update its investment exclusion policy a “milestone”. The unanimous vote to remove investments complicit in the oppression of Palestinians is the first by a pension fund in Wales. Clwyd Pension Fund committee members moved to bring the portfolio into compliance with the UN OHCHR database. This covers all business enterprises involved in specified activities related to the unlawful Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

The Clwyd Pension Fund is administered by Flintshire County Council and is part of the Local Government Pension Scheme. It covers Denbighshire, Wrexham and Flintshire. It pays out £125m in 53,000 pensions each year to members of the scheme. Assets under management total £2.57bn.

A campaign bears fruit

The vote followed a vigorous campaign of lobbying by the NE Wales Palestine Solidarity Campaign branch. PSC Cymru co-chair David McKnight said:

Although the OHCHR database is limited to illegal Israeli settlements, this vote is very significant as other motions passed don’t necessarily mean actual divestment. This one does.

Wrexham county councillor Anthony Wedlake said the Clwyd Pension Fund has now completed a process he initiated with the support of other Clwyd Pension Fund members in November 2024. This includes a survey of members that showed they did not wish to be complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people. The survey of pension members asked if they agreed with divestment. The results, from September 2025, were an overwhelming 84.2% in favour.

Wedlake added:

the decision means the CPF will not invest in any assets on the UN OHCR database. Also, the CPF will no longer have funds in companies on the database, even those funds invested on CPF’s behalf in the WPP [Wales Pension Partnership].

Wedlake currently sits for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition and is Group Leader of the Progressive Independents.

He said the previous investments were “relatively small” but nonetheless are now no longer in the CPF’s portfolio. He added:

I am committed to do all I can to stop the genocidal acts and war crimes of the Israeli State. I am grateful to my colleagues on the CPF and its members for supporting the process which led to this landmark decision. No longer will CPF be tacit supporters of genocide and I hope that the decision inspires those throughout the UK campaigning for disinvestment. My next steps are to continue to fight for the WPP to completely disinvest assets complicit in genocide.

Divestment across Wales

The Clwyd Pension Fund committee members further decided, at their meeting on 26 November in Ty Dewi Sant, Ewloe, to engage with the Wales Pension Partnership about implementing the fund’s Exclusions Policy. The Wales Pension Partnership manages investments on behalf of local government pension funds in Wales.

The meeting also voted to completely divest its Tactical Asset Allocation Fund, meaning no further divestment is required to be compliant with the decision to update the exclusion policy. The only assets listed on the UN OHCR database were all within the Clwyd Pension Fund’s Tactical Asset Allocation Fund. Companies within the fund previously included AirBnB, Bookings Holdings Inc, Expedia Group and Motorola Solutions.

The Clwyd Pension Fund vote is the first by an actual pension fund in Wales to divest. Nine local authorities in Wales have voted to divest their funds, but are reliant on the Wales Pension Partnership to implement the divestment decision. Palestine Solidarity Campaign has a timeline of divestment milestones. Bridgend was the most recent council in Wales to vote to divest (19 November).