Danish pension fund AkademikerPension has decided to exclude the State of Israel and state-controlled companies from its investment universe. 

The fund said that the decision was made based on an assessment that the ongoing conflict is not taking place in accordance with international principles of proportionality, protection of civilians and access to humanitarian assistance.

"At AkademikerPension, we have a systematic approach to monitoring states when it comes to compliance with our responsible investment policy," AkademikerPension CEO, Jens Munch Holst, said.

"In this situation, the monitoring has identified persistent human rights violations and we have therefore excluded the State of Israel and state-controlled companies from our investment universe." 

The group confirmed that it currently has no holdings in the State of Israel or in state-owned Israeli companies.

The news marks the latest in a string of decisions from pension funds on whether or not they should keep Israel holdings in their portfolio, with Norway's Government Pension Fund Global facing particular scrutiny over its investments in Israel.

In contrast, broader European defence holdings have seen renewed interest, with AkademikerPension previously announcing plans to lift exclusions on six major European arms manufacturers as a result of previous changes to its investment guidelines.

---