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Business leaders are urging the Labour Party Chancellor Reeves to force pension funds to raise UK investments. More than 250 bosses have asked the Labour Party chancellor to require schemes to put 25% of assets in British firms, which could unlock £95bn. More than 250 British company bosses have urged Ms Reeves to use her budget to make UK pension schemes channel extra funds into domestic businesses, increasing private investment by as much as £95bn. Business leaders said the government must address a crisis in which pension investment in UK-listed companies has fallen from 53% of total equity holdings in 1997 to 4% this year. READ MORE There's one group of drivers you have to feel so sorry for in new UK pay-per-mile car tax The signatories said that to reverse decades of investment overseas, Labour should tell pension fund managers they must invest at least 25% of their equity holdings in UK shares. “We urge you to be bold,” the authors wrote. “This policy would set the default level of UK domestic pension investment closer to that of international competitors,” the letter said. “Doing so would provide businesses with access to deeper and more reliable sources of capital in the UK." “By 2030 overall investment in UK equities by DC pensions would increase by around £76bn from current levels in today’s money (or +230%) and potentially as much as £95bn,” the letter added. The letter went on and added: “Taking action would be in line with the perceptions of the British public. A recent poll commissioned by New Financial found that the public believes 41% of their pension is invested in UK companies or the UK stock market – 10 times the current level of investment. “Moreover, 72% support government action to encourage more domestic investment through their pension schemes.” Ms Reeves, the Labour Party Chancellor, is set to unveil her Autumn Statement on November 26 to much rumour and speculation.
