The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has enhanced the guidance available to UK pension schemes with the publication of its Hedge Funds Made Simple document and its updated guidance on responsible investment.

Both documents were unveiled at the NAPF Investment Conference 2009 in Edinburgh. Hedge Funds Made Simple, the latest in the NAPF's Made Simple series, is supposed to provide a clear and simple explanation of the main features of hedge funds as an investment option for UK pension funds.

The Responsible Investment guidance provides an update to the NAPF Corporate Social Responsibility guidance, published in 2005, to assist institutional investors in developing their policies in this area.

David Paterson, head of corporate governance at the NAP, explained: "Responsible investing is rightly becoming more fundamental to the investment decisions pension funds are making. Trustees, their managers and the companies in which they invest need to work more closely together to ensure that there is an appropriate focus on longer-term, sustainable returns to shareholders. In this way they can best serve the interests of members.

"The guidance is aimed at helping trustees and other investors in developing their policies further in this key area."

Information about both guides can be found on the NAPF's website www.napf.co.uk

- Pensions Age March 2009

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