Cowan v Scargill and the fiduciary duty of investment: has the nature of the investment duty changed and what is currently driving “socially responsible investing” in pension schemes?

This article examines the fiduciary duty of investment. It is particularly interested in how this duty may be exercised by pension trusts in support of the “socially responsible investing” (SRI) movement. An analysis of the case of Cowan v Scargill is provided to better understand whether this duty has changed over the past two decades. It finds that the above-named case shows that, intrinsically, this duty has not changed. In light of that finding, the article stipulates that external stimuli, in the form of increased regulation and societal appreciation of SRI, are driving improvements in this area.