Fossil Free Books, launched by literary industry professionals, said Baillie Gifford invests in companies “linked to the Israeli military” and Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, as well as a number of major fossil fuel companies.
The company is a large investor in several multinational technology companies, such as Amazon, Nvidia and Meta, which have “commercial dealings with the state of Israel that are tiny in the context of their overall business”, it said.
It is also a “small” investor in “three companies that have been identified as having activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories”, it said, adding: “We are committed to responsibly analysing and engaging with the companies in which we invest. This work is ongoing and progress has been made.”
However, it said it was the responsibility of its clients to make “subjective ethical situations relating to sectors (such as fossil fuels) or countries (such as Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories)”.
“We are not able to make exclusions of that nature based on our own ethical judgements, or in response to pressure from outside groups.”
Baillie Gifford added that it was “not a significant fossil fuel investor”, with 2% of its clients’ money invested in companies with some business related to fossil fuels.
It said it was a “long-standing supporter of literature and the arts… driven by our contention that we should contribute to the communities in which we operate, in the hope that the organisations we work with gain lasting benefits”.
Fossil Free Books has said the 2% figure equates to between £2.5bn and £5bn.
Church wrote: “This is many times more than the combined net worth of everybody involved at the Hay Festival. ‘Only 2%’ is not good enough.”