LONDON — The union representing British nurses is under fire from some of its own members over what they say is an opaque investment strategy linked to companies investing in Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territories.

A report sent to Royal College of Nursing (RCN) management by activist group Nurses for Palestine and NGO Corporate Watch, and obtained by POLITICO, argues that the union’s choice of investment managers Legal & General and Sarasins is at odds with its own ethical investment policy.

Members of the group say they don’t know exactly which shares the union holds in its portfolio, because the union’s management hasn’t informed them. The report points to a list of companies held by the RCN’s fund managers, including U.S. tech firm Palantir and Israeli arms-maker Elbit Systems, which activists say should be enough for the union to put its money elsewhere.

A spokesperson for the RCN declined to say which companies were in its portfolio when contacted by POLITICO. The group said it was “committed to social responsibility” and stressed that it did not invest in weapons manufacturing or any “ethically unacceptable practices.”

‘True ethical investment’

The Nurses for Palestine and NGO Corporate Watch report draws on a United Nations investigation into what its human rights council calls Israel’s “Economy of Genocide” to identify companies that activists say link fund managers to Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territories.

The International Court of Justice is currently considering allegations of genocide against Israel, while an independent U.N. inquiry found Israel was committing genocide against the Palestinians. Israel has adamantly rejected those allegations and argued it upholds its obligations under international law.

The companies named in the UN report include U.S. tech firms that provide Israel with cloud and artificial intelligence technology. These are among the most widely held shares in the world and are mainstays in the portfolios offered by popular fund managers, which often track the performance of the stock market.

A Palantir spokesperson told POLITICO the company rejected its inclusion in the U.N. report and referred to previous statements clarifying its partnership with the Israeli military.

The report — which follows two open letters whose signatories include 100 RCN members — does not present evidence that the union directly holds shares in companies more directly involved in the arms trade. But it argues that “true ethical investment” should look beyond investors’ own portfolios and at their fund managers’ “wider practices.”

The RCN spokesperson said: “Despite the globalised nature of investments, our indirect exposure — to companies that we may not directly invest in — is a fraction of a single percentage.” According to its latest annual report, the RCN Group (including the union and its charitable foundation) had a combined investment portfolio worth £143.6 million as of Dec. 31, 2024.

Sarasins said in a statement that it takes a “rigorous approach to identifying and assessing any potential exposure to human-rights risks across the many companies we invest in on behalf of our clients.” 

“The situation in Gaza is evolving, and we are in the process of considering targeted engagement approaches and discussing these with expert contacts and stakeholders,” the firm said.

A spokesperson for L&G said all of its investments were in line with international laws and regulations and that any holdings in the companies named in the report were part of “broad, global market indices.”