Thread by @LHreports

INVESTIGATION Some of Europe’s largest pension funds are investing billions of euros in volatile commodity markets, risking the hard-earned income of their workers while fuelling a global hunger crisis, a new @LHReports investigation has found.

Together with @FTM_nl @Apache_be @LongPlay_fi @IlBoLive @ElDiario @openDemocracy and @EUobs we analysed the accounts of more than 70 major pension funds across Europe.

While some pension funds explicitly forbid speculating in commodities, especially in food, 15 are currently investing in them, with the 3 biggest buyers the Netherlands, UK and Denmark holding a total of €37 billion between them.

According to Jayati Ghosh (@Jayati1609), professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the findings show that pension funds are among the financial institutions that have aggravated the problem of investor speculation driving food prices.

These soaring prices of food & energy have triggered a cost of living crisis around the world, including in the EU. The @UNDP said it pushed an estimated 71 million people into poverty & @UNCTAD stated this “betting frenzy” does not get enough attention unctad.org/tdr2022

It’s a risky investment too, said @AnnPettifor, one of the few economists who predicted the 2007-2008 global financial crisis. “I don't want my pension fund to go near something as volatile as a commodity market, especially the ones in energy and in food.”

The findings raise questions over whether the European Union’s continued drive to deregulate its financial markets will worsen the situation in the future. The rules governing the bloc’s capital markets - MiFID II - are currently under review.

The MiFID was set up in the wake of the 2007-2008 crisis to curb excessive speculation on commodities, but over the years financial institutions successfully lobbied to weaken it, as a previous investigation by @LHreports has found #hungerprofiteers lighthousereports.nl/investigation/…

Last year’s amendments to the framework further loosened the rules - to the frustration of @spietikainen, an MEP of the largest EU political group (@EPPGroup), who finds the current focus on doing away with environmental restrictions to prevent a food crisis misguided

“There is not going to be a food shortage in Europe. The question is food prices, and combating this would be better served by regulating the speculative markets.”

This investigation was led by the Food Systems Newsroom of @LHreports. Contributors: @LudoHekman @MargotGibbs, @thinink, @kabira_tweeting @bearamalhosilva, @LionelFaull @SteVaBu Casper Rouffaer, Cristina Bolinches, @hannanik @elisabetta_tola

@LudoHekman @MargotGibbs @thinink @kabira_tweeting @bearamalhosilva @LionelFaull @SteVaBu @hannanik @elisabetta_tola The Dutch partner @FTM_nl zooms in on @abppensioen, for good reasons: by far the biggest investor in food commodities among the 75 pension funds we've looked at.

ftm.nl/artikelen/pens…

It is not just risky, it also fuels inflation. The story by @eldiarioes:
eldiario.es/economia/espec…

@eldiarioes At @euobs: special attention for the current review of MiFID 2, the rules for financial markets, currently under review. And why @spietikainen of @EPPGroup aims for tighter regulation

euobserver.com/health-and-soc…

This piece by @SteVaBu contrast the large commodity exposure in the UK & the Netherlands with the absence of this type of speculation by pension funds in Belgium.

apache.be/2022/10/12/eur…

@SteVaBu European pension funds are speculating on the price of food, and the Finns are also involved concludes @hannanik at an in-depth story for @LongPlay_fi

longplay.fi/sivuaanet/euro…

@SteVaBu @hannanik @LongPlay_fi Strong example of pension funds speculating with food found in the UK by @MargotGibbs. At least two major pension schemes (@nestpensions & @USSpensions) are investing in commodities that are central to the cost of living crisis. w/ @OpenDemocracy

opendemocracy.net/en/uk-pension-…