Back to Resources Guide

Building an Investor Coalition

Boards can ignore campaigners. They do not ignore the investors who own their shares. This guide shows you how to find who owns a company supplying Israel's military and occupation, bring those owners together, and escalate from a private letter to a sale.

9 steps in 3 phases
10 minute read
For savers, trustees and fund staff

Find who owns a company Letter for pension savers

Why investors

The UN Commission of Inquiry found in September 2025 that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and the International Court of Justice held in July 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful. The companies that arm that military, run its data and finance its settlements are owned by pension funds, insurers and endowments, and those owners can be moved.

They have been. Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the Dutch pension fund ABP and the Presbyterian Church (USA) have sold shares over Israel's conduct in Gaza and the occupied territory. Each decision was made by a committee, and committees answer letters.

Phase 1

Map

1. Find who owns the company

Start with the company's profile in our directory, which often names its main investors. Then check the sources below.

The company's annual report

Most listed companies name their largest shareholders in the annual report.

US quarterly filings (13F)

Large US investment managers file their holdings every quarter on the SEC EDGAR database.

UK holding notices

Shareholders crossing 3% of most UK-listed companies (5% for some fund managers) must notify the company, which publishes a "Holding(s) in Company" announcement.

Free finance sites

Yahoo Finance (Holders tab), Morningstar and similar sites list the top institutional holders.

2. Pick the investors who listen

Not every shareholder will move. Start with those whose own rules or members give them a reason to.

Pension funds

Long horizons and legal duties to their members. Public funds such as local government schemes answer to elected committees.

Responsible investment funds

Their own marketing promises human rights screening. Hold them to it.

Faith investors

Churches, mosques and charities with written ethical policies, often older and stricter than the market's.

University endowments

Students and staff are members of the institution and can ask its investment committee directly.

Union pension schemes

Union members can raise it through the union as well as with the trustees.

3. Count leverage, not people

A board measures investors by the money they manage (their "assets under management") and the share of votes they hold. Put those numbers first.

"We have a petition with 10,000 signatures."

"We represent shareholders holding £4.2 billion of assets and 3.5% of the company's voting shares."

"This company is complicit and you should sell."

"This holding carries legal and reputational risk that has not been priced. What engagement have you done?"

Phase 2

Engage

4. Recruit an anchor investor

Find one sympathetic institution to lead: a small responsible-investment manager, a faith investor or a union pension fund. Other investors sign letters that someone credible has already signed.

5. Circulate a sign-on letter

The anchor drafts a private letter to the board and circulates it among other investors. Investors working together on a company is ordinary practice: the UK Stewardship Code treats collaborative engagement as part of stewardship. Agree the letter, not each other's votes or trades: each investor should decide independently how to vote and whether to sell, because agreements on voting or selling can trigger disclosure and competition rules. Fund staff should check with their compliance team.

The ask to the board

Commission enhanced human rights due diligence on the named business, and report the findings to shareholders by a date.

The pitch to investors

This company carries legal and reputational risk it has not disclosed. Asking for due diligence is prudent stewardship.

6. Take it to the company

Ask the head of investor relations for a meeting, and bring the lead investor.
Present the risk using the Four Pillars of Material Risk and the evidence on the company's profile.
Close with a date: "We would rather resolve this privately. If there is no plan by [date], we will consider a shareholder resolution."

7. Write as a pension saver

You do not need to be a fund manager. If you have a pension, you are a beneficiary of the fund that holds these shares, and trustees owe duties to you. If your pension is a contract-based workplace plan (with a provider such as Aviva, Aegon or Fidelity), send the letter to the provider and its Independent Governance Committee instead. Union members can also ask their union to raise it. For a live example, see the HSBC pensions campaign.

Letter to your pension trustees

Dear Trustees,

I am a member of [scheme name], member number [number].

I understand the scheme holds shares in [company]. [One sentence on what the company supplies to the Israeli military or the occupation, taken from its profile at palestiniangenocide.org.] The UN Commission of Inquiry found in September 2025 that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and the International Court of Justice held in July 2024 that the occupation is unlawful.

As a beneficiary, I ask you to tell me what the scheme holds in [company], what engagement you have carried out with it on these issues, and whether you will engage with it on a timetable or sell the holding.

I would be grateful for a reply within 28 days.

Yours faithfully,
[Your name]

Phase 3

Escalate

8. Climb the escalation ladder

Move up one rung at a time, and only when the company has missed the date you gave it.

1 Private letter

Investors write to the board setting out the risk and asking for a response.
2 Meeting with investor relations

The lead investor presents the evidence and a deadline for a plan.
3 Public statement

The coalition says publicly what it holds and what it has asked for.
4 Shareholder resolution or vote against

File a resolution, or vote against the chair or audit committee chair at the annual meeting.
How to file a resolution
5 Divestment

Each investor decides for itself whether to sell, and says why. A published exclusion is evidence the next investor can use.

9. Use the precedents

A trustee is more comfortable following than leading. Send them the decisions other investors have already made.

Norway's Government Pension Fund Global

Excluded Elbit Systems in 2009 over surveillance systems for the separation wall, and Caterpillar and five Israeli banks on 25 August 2025.

Storebrand Asset Management

Sold its Palantir shares in 2024 over concern that the company's Israeli work "might put the asset manager at risk of violating international humanitarian law and human rights".

KBC, Degroof Petercam and Argenta

Removed Palantir from their sustainable funds in March 2026; Argenta from all of its funds.

Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP

The largest Dutch pension fund sold its Palantir holding in April 2026.

Presbyterian Church (USA)

Voted in June 2026 to divest from Palantir and GE Aerospace after two years of engagement.

Border to Coast Pensions Partnership

The UK local government pool sold $29.2 million of Israeli government bonds in September 2025, without publishing a reason.

Last updated: October 2026

Does your fund hold one of these companies?

Each profile sets out the evidence, the risks and who to write to.

Search the companies

Related Resources

Guide