Investor activism: Funds stand up to Shell

EU pension funds begin to flex muscles over scandals. Twenty-six Dutch pension funds are suing Royal Dutch Shell for overstating its oil reserves between 1999 and 2003.

The group of predominantly Dutch pension funds, led by ABP, the €168 billion Dutch civil service and educational pension fund, has filed a pending class-action lawsuit against the energy company with US law firm Grant & Eisenhofer.

“We’re arguing that these clients bought shares based on Shell’s stated oil reserves,” says Geoff Jarvis, partner at Grant & Eisenhofer. “When Shell acknowledged that they had overstated the reserves at a later date, the stock price took a hit and resulted in our clients losing hundreds of millions of dollars.

Access intelligence that drives action

To unlock this research, enter your email to log in or enquire about access