London CIV, the £30bn pool for the London Boroughs and the City of London, is facing new challenges with Aoifinn Devitt set to depart from her role as CIO.
Devitt, who took on the role of CIO in January this year, is the second CIO to depart within 12 months as former investment lead Jason Fletcher left the pool in October last year. Since 2017, the pool has had four CIO’s and four CEO’s with current CEO Dean Bowden having taken over in November 2022.
The news was first circulated to London CIV’s 32 shareholders yesterday before being confirmed by a spokesperson for the pool today.
Devitt will remain with the pool for the summer and will move on in Q4 to pursue new opportunities. Rob Treich, head of public markets at the pool has been asked to support the pool’s CEO, Dean Bowden, in the oversight of the investment team during the period of transition.
Devitt’s departure marks a significant loss for the pool. She joined London CIV from US-based wealth management firm Moneta, where she was CIO. She has extensive experience as a consultant to LGPS funds and in senior investment roles, including as head of investment for Ireland at Hermes Fund Managers and CIO for the Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago. She has also twice acted as chair for Room151’s Private Markets Forum.
London CIV has a history of turbulent CIO departures with one of her predecessors, Mark Thompson having only spent weeks in the jobs. Jason Fletcher, who was CIO prior to Devitt has held the role for more than two years.
Dean Bowden, CEO at London CIV, commented: “While Aoifinn may be moving on, as one of the leading thought leaders within the LGPS, I know she will continue to help London CIV on its journey as the investment partner of choice for our partner funds.
“It is likely that there will be a gap between Aoifinn leaving and a new CIO joining us, and I have asked London CIV’s head of Public Markets, Rob Treich, to support the pool’s CEO, Dean Bowden, in the oversight of the investment team during the period of transition.”
“I can think of no better person than Rob to take the investment team helm while we go through a recruitment process. His experience, knowledge, and dedication to London CIV and our Partner Funds is exceptional – something all who work with him will attest to!”
The overhaul comes at a challenging time for the pool, with the wider LGPS community facing increased talks of fund consolidation. In May this year, then-local government minister Simon Hoare sent a letter to all administering authorities to request an update on their pooling progress. The letter was widely seen by industry sources as a push towards further consolidation of LGPS funds amid growing government frustration over the pace of pooling.
The former Conservative government had set a March 2025 deadline for all listed assets to be pooled, but it is widely expected that not all funds will meet this deadline.
While the UK is now under a new government, the Labour party has already made it clear that it intends to proceed, if anything, more aggressively on LGPS fund consolidation. London CIV, which has by far the most partner funds of the eight LGPS pools, could be at the forefront of the discussion on fund consolidation.
Indeed, another LGPS fund, London Pension Fund Authority (LPFA), has commissioned Hymans Robertson to conduct a survey on the prospects for consolidating the London funds, as Room151 first reported in May.
The London CIV pool is responding to these challenges by exploring a potential overhaul of the services it provides to its partner funds, as first reported on Room151 in June. The pool has appointed Adrien Meyers, head of pensions investments at the London Borough of Sutton, as chief proposition officer in a bid to improve the relationship between the pool and administering authorities.
