Access
£5m savings with passive investments
The Local Government Pension Scheme pool ACCESS has appointed UBS Asset Management to run its members’ passive investments, outside of its main investment vehicle. ACCESS says that members will collectively save £5m a year in management fees through the deal, which will see each member fund contract individually with the fund manager. Councillor Andrew Reid, chairman of the ACCESS joint committee, said: “I am delighted we have started the process of pooling early with some tangible, long term savings and look forward to a smooth transition to UBS.”
Operator
The operator of the Access pool is expectedly to be named imminently. Room151 understands the appointment was being finalised after a review of a shortlist of candidates and an announcement is expected in early February.
Border to Coast
New interim CIO
John Harrison, a frequent commentator on LGPS issues for Room151, has been appointed interim chief investment officer at Border to Coast (BTC), taking up the role from next month. The pool also announced that Mark Lyon, currently head of investments at East Riding Pension Fund, will become head of equities and alternatives, reporting to Harrison. In a third appointment Manda McConnell becomes the pool’s chief risk officer.
Harrison, whose work includes spells as managing director of institutional advisory at Allenbridge and chief investment officer for UBS’ UK institutional business, has also advised Surrey’s local authority pension scheme. He will report directly to Rachel Elwell, chief executive of BTC. He said: “The creation of new asset pools in the LGPS is one of the most significant changes in the UK investment management industry in a generation.”
He added that Lyon’s “investment experience and commitment to the Border to Coast project will be invaluable to me as we seek to integrate investment staff and build our new investment team.”
Brunel
New head of private markets
Brunel Pension Partnership has appointed Richard Fanshawe as its head of private markets. Fanshawe joins the Local Government Pension Scheme pool from Derbyshire Pension Fund on 1 February. Dawn Turner, CEO of Brunel, said: “Richard brought us the ideal mix of technical experience, with 11 years of experience across a broad range of different assets classes, including eight years as a fund and portfolio manager focused on direct equities, private equity, infrastructure and credit strategies.”
Climate Action
Brunel has joined the Climate Action 100+ campaign, a project which sees major investors engage with the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters on cutting carbon emissions. Faith Ward, chief responsible investment officer, said: “We will engage Climate Action 100+ companies through our asset managers, engagement specialists and directly. In this way we aim to amplify the voice of investors, our clients and their beneficiaries, who are demanding effective management and disclosure on climate risk.”
Central
Appointments
The Central LGPS pool has made four new appointments. Duncan Sanford becomes interim deputy chief investment officer; Mike Hardwick becomes investment director for infrastructure and property and Omar Ghafur will join as investment director for private equity. Michael Marshall has been made director for responsible investment and engagement.
Chief investment officer Jason Fletcher said: “These appointments are critical to our delivery of the risk adjusted return after costs that our partner funds require to meet their future commitments.”
Sandford was most recently CEO and CIO of Nestle Capital Management while Hardwick joins after serving as head of alternatives and fixed interest investments at West Midlands Pension Fund (WMPF). Ghafur joins after serving as senior investment officer with the investment arm of a charitable trust. Marshall also joins from WMPF where he was responsible investment officer.
Northern Pool
Greater Manchester Pension Fund chair dies
Kieran Quinn, chairman of Greater Manchester Pension Fund, a constituent of the Northern Pool, has passed away following a fall caused after suffering a heart attack. Quinn, the executive leader of Tameside Council, fell while delivering Christmas cards with his wife prior to Christmas.
A tribute from the council said: “Whether astutely guiding Tameside Council through the most difficult period for local government in living memory, ensuring the GMPF grew into the largest most successful pension fund in the UK against the wider trend of pensions shortfalls, or fighting to reduce the north-south economic imbalance now widely recognised through the Northern Powerhouse agenda, he always stood up and provided the necessary leadership.”
London CIV
CIO Departure
Chief investment officer Julian Pendock has become the latest senior figure to leave the London Collective Investment Vehicle. Pendock, who joined the LGPS pooling vehicle for London boroughs in 2015, resigned from the body, just two months after chief executive Hugh Grover left the organisation. A statement from London CIV this week said: “Julian Pendock has decided to move on from his role as CIO of the London CIV after two years. At the London CIV we would like to thank him for all his efforts and his contribution in building the London CIV to an organisation managing £14bn of pension assets for the London boroughs and wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”
Stakeholder trust
The London CIV (LCIV) must reset its relationship with member funds to reverse a “pernicious” lack of trust, according to a hard-hitting official review. Room151 has seen a copy of an independent governance review produced for the CIV in November, which said that some funds are not fully engaged “and seem to be growing increasingly disgruntled” with the body. Read the full story here.
LPP
Middle office function
Local Pension Partnership is looking to upgrade its portfolio management system and outsource its middle office function. In a tender, the LGPS pool said that the outsourced middle office would “deliver an enhanced investment operations process, preparing the model for additional clients, instrument and investment types and client reporting needs”. The move follows a review of its investment operations, systems and processes which recommend improvements to “improve operational risk resilience and delivery of regulatory compliance”.
Property vehicle
LPP is creating a new vehicle to hold property assets. The new vehicle will combine Lancashire County Pension fund’s £600m national portfolio and London Pensions Fund Authority’s £150m core portfolio, as well as making new acquisitions. The vehicle will target a return of 4-6% a year and hold UK property across the retail, office, industrial and “alternative” sectors. A £60m portfolio of property in Lancashire held by LCP will remain outside the new vehicle.
Wales
Operator appointment
Link Asset Services (LAS) has been appointed as operator for the Welsh Local Government Pension Scheme pool.
The eight councils in the £15bn pool have all signed off the decision, which will see Link sub-contract investment advisory services to Russell Investments.
The five year contract will see the partnership administer investments on behalf of the funds in a bid to reduce fee costs for members.
Chris Moore, director of corporate services at Carmarthenshire County Council, host Authority for the Wales Pension Partnership (WPP), said: “The appointment of Link Asset Services, in partnership with Russell Investments, is a significant milestone in the establishment of a £15bn investment pool for the LGPS funds in Wales.
Register for the Room151 LGPS Quarterly Newsletter
