The Pensions Protection Fund (PPF) has announced the appointment of fund management company F&C Investments as it moves to encourage companies to adopt higher corporate responsibility standards.

Under the new deal, as well as advising the PPF on responsible investing, F&C will exercise exclusive rights over its £1.5 billion portfolio and will work to encourage members to roll out best practice initiatives for areas including corporate transparency, governance and climate change.

In a note to Reuters, the PPF commented: "The PPF investment strategy is based on the expectation that companies and governments with sound environmental, social and governance principles are more likely to offer strong, long-term financial performance and stability."

The initiative comes on the back of a recent wave of criticism from investors regarding the corporate governance of funds that have joined the PPF since it was established in 2005 with the aim of protecting the benefits of members of final-salary pension schemes that have gone bust.

In particular, the environmental track record of the investments made by companies has come under increasing scrutiny, with F&C now tasked with retaining investor confidence in this regard.