Colleges exposed as arms investors

Universities have emerged as major investors in the arms trade in a "name and shame" campaign by a human rights pressure group.

Some 49 educational organisations, including universities and university pension funds, held between them about 50 million shares in arms companies in 2000, according to an investors list published this week by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade. The Universities Superannuation Scheme alone held almost 39 million shares in five arms firms, the CAAT said.

Published as part of the CAAT's "clean investment campaign", the list is based on shareholder information provided in last year's financial returns of six companies involved in arms manufacture - BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, GKN, Hunting, Cobham and Alvis. No universities have shareholdings in the latter three companies.

The CAAT said research has proved that the majority of the public is in favour of ethical investment and that people in the United Kingdom oppose the sale of arms to all but "close allies". CAAT spokesman Robin Oakley said: "By not divesting from arms companies, higher education institutions are tarnishing the laudable pursuit of learning and showing contempt for the opinions of the people they serve and represent."

The University of Bristol is among the 19 higher education institutions or individual university pension funds listed. Its pension fund holds more than a quarter of a million shares in three companies. A Bristol spokeswoman confirmed shareholdings in GKN, Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems, but said the pension fund managers were responsible for ethical considerations.

Between them, nine colleges of Oxford and Cambridge universities hold hundreds of thousands of shares in arms companies.

The CAAT found that Balliol College, Oxford, holds more than 250,000 shares in three of the six companies. Senior bursar of Balliol, Marten van de Veen, confirmed it had investments in BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and GKN, and said the college was satisfied with these shareholdings. He said that ethical investment issues had been given "a very good airing" in the college recently and that its investments were monitored.

The University of Hertfordshire, the smallest investor on the list, confirmed that it holds 180 shares in BAE systems. It said the shares were given to a charitable trust at the university by a former BAE employee.

Clive Edwards, deputy chief investment officer at the USS, said he could not comment on the individual companies named by the CAAT, but said that the scheme had appointed an in-house social responsibility investor and it would consider these issues in greater depth.

Some higher education institutions are reviewing their investments. The CAAT said that Christ Church College, Oxford, had divested its shares in arms companies.

Last year, the University of East Anglia became the first university to pursue an ethical investment policy with central funds.