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Insider UK
Insider UK
Politics
Peter A Walker

Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme sells Russian equities

The trustee chair of the Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme has confirmed that all its Russian equity investments have either been sold, or are in the process of being sold.

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine intensified last week, a request was made to divest Russian holdings from the scheme for MSPs.

Pauline McNeill, chair of the trustees, wrote to fund manager Baillie Gifford seeking immediate divestment from Sberbank, and any other holdings in Russian companies.

"At present only a rump holding of Russian equity remains that has been fair value priced at zero," she reported back to parliament. "Completion of the equity sale will go through once trading resumes - at present markets are effectively frozen."

The only other position held by Baillie Gifford is £6,500 worth of bonds that will also be disposed of as soon as trading permits.

A Freedom of Information request had found that the scheme has holdings in Sberbank worth £299,571.

In the wake of those findings, it was also revealed that the University of Edinburgh has shares worth £1.1m in Sberbank, held via Baillie Gifford, which is based in the Scottish capital.

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