The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) is for academic and associated staff in UK universities and other higher education institutions. It has assets of more than £30bn and many vocal activist shareholders.

Penrose MD Gay Collins heads the account, alongside account director Andy Fleming and account executive Clare Murphy-McGreevey. They report to USS comms manager Colin Busby. The account was won after a competitive pitch.

This is the first time that Liverpool-based USS has brought in an agency for a financial brief, but it uses Citypress in Manchester for brand profile work.

‘USS is quite active and is a huge fund with a big presence, so profile raising is not necessarily an issue,’ said Fleming, who is a former head of press and PR for the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF). ‘It has an unusually well-informed membership, so we need to talk to it intelligently.’

Penrose also advises the funds Watson Wyatt, Punter Southall, Barrie & Hibbert and Governance for Owners.

Last year Penrose advised the NAPF as the UK’s pension system faced a radical overhaul (PRWeek, 30 Nov­ember 2006). Under government plans, the state pension age for men and women will rise to 68 by 2050.

In this week's Video Podcast, Gay Collins explains more about socially responsible investments. WATCH