Pension fund investment policies based on the more traditional ethical investment issues such as production of tobacco and alcohol should be avoided by trustees, according to Friends Ivory & Sime.

An independent survey of members from 1,000 occupational pension funds in the UK, carried out by market researcher NOP on behalf of Friends Ivory & Sime (FIS), found that less contentious issues such as human rights and labour standards are unlikely to cause conflict between scheme members and pension fund trustees.