Herts County Council reviews investments linked to Russia

Bosses at Hertfordshire County Council have been reviewing their contracts and investments, in light of the situation in Ukraine.

Since the invasion of Ukraine, county council officials have confirmed that the council does not have any ‘direct’ contracts with Russian companies.

There are three unspecified sites – that have recently come under the control of the county council – that do use Gazprom as an energy supplier.

But, say the county council, these properties are already in the process of being switched to the council’s main corporate contract.

“We don’t have any direct contracts with Russian companies,” said a spokesperson for the county council.

“We do have three sites that have recently come under our control where the previous tenant used Gazprom as an energy supplier, but these are currently in the process of being switched on to our main corporate contract.”

Meanwhile a review of investments has highlighted just one investment fund that is said to have ‘a small investment in Russian equities and bonds’.

And the council is said to be reviewing this position with its investment advisors.

“We are reviewing our investments and have found that one fund we invest in has a small investment in Russian equities and bonds, meaning that the county council has around £1,500 invested in Russia,” said the spokesperson.

“We are reviewing this position with our investment advisors.”

The Hertfordshire Local Government Pension Fund is not managed by the county council.

But council officials have also asked investment managers to look at whether the find has assets linked to Russia.

“Although it will take a while to get an exact picture, we believe that less than 0.1% of the fund has any link to Russian investments or markets,” said the spokesperson.

“We are working with the investment managers to monitor this fast-evolving situation and consider the implications on the investment portfolio.”