Link and Russell appointed to run Welsh LGPS CIV

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.
“We look forward to working together to deliver the benefits of investment pooling for the LGPS in Wales.”
Russell Investments will assist LAS by advising on efficiencies around portfolio construction, including manager selection for the total pool of assets, excluding passive equity.
The partnership will aim to further reduce costs through a multi-manager structure, currency management, portfolio overlays, transition management and other execution services, WPP said.
Peter Hugh Smith, managing director of Link Fund Solutions, part of Link Asset Services, said: “The pooling of the assets into a collective investment vehicle means the constituent authorities will benefit from enhanced governance and the protection of a regulated tax transparent structure.”
The tender for the contract, published in March last year, envisaged the value of the contract at £35m.
The Welsh funds have opted for a collective investment vehicle structure for its pool, similar to London CIV, although the latter carries out administration and investment using internal resources.
Pension pooling was originally announced by former chancellor George Osborne in 2015 as a way of reducing fee costs and boosting investment in UK infrastructure.

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