Agenda and minutes
Venue: Committee Room C, County Hall, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2DN. View directions
Contact: Sharmina Ullah Email: sharmina.ullah@surreycc.gov.uk
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Minutes:
Apologies were received from Councillor Tony Elias.
The Chairman welcomed Councillor Ruth Mitchell the new borough/district representative on the Committee. |
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MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING: 8 JUNE 2018 PDF 484 KB
To agree the minutes as a true record of the meeting. Minutes: The Minutes were approved as an accurate record of the previous meeting. |
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
All Members present are required to declare, at this point in the meeting or as soon as possible thereafter (i) Any disclosable pecuniary interests and / or (ii) Other interests arising under the Code of Conduct in respect of any item(s) of business being considered at this meeting NOTES: · Members are reminded that they must not participate in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest · As well as an interest of the Member, this includes any interest, of which the Member is aware, that relates to the Member’s spouse or civil partner (or any person with whom the Member is living as a spouse or civil partner) · Members with a significant personal interest may participate in the discussion and vote on that matter unless that interest could be reasonably regarded as prejudicial. Minutes: There were none.
- The Committee received a presentation from the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum on corporate governance and corporate social responsibility.
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QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS
To receive any questions or petitions.
Notes: 1. The deadline for Member’s questions is 12.00pm four working days before the meeting (7 September 2018). 2. The deadline for public questions is seven days before the meeting (6 September 2018). 3. The deadline for petitions was 14 days before the meeting, and no petitions have been received.
The Committee has received 3 public questions, questions will be tabled at the meeting alongside the responses.
Minutes:
a. ‘What is being done to challenge the energy incumbent we are invested in”.
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ACTION TRACKER AND FORWARD PLAN PDF 56 KB
The Committee is aked to monitor progress of actions from previous meetings and to review the Committee’s forward work programme. Additional documents: Minutes: Declarations of interest:
None
Witnesses:
Neil Mason, Head of Pensions Sharmina Ullah, Democratic Services Assistant
Resolved:
Members noted and approved the action tracker and forward plan.
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INVESTMENT MANAGER ISSUES, PERFORMANCE AND ASSET/LIABILITIES UPDATE
Purpose of the report: This report is a summary of all manager issues that need to be brought to attention of the Pension Fund Committee, as well as an update on investment performance and the values of assets and liabilities. Minutes: Declarations of interest:
None
Witnesses:
Neil Mason, Head of Pensions
Key points raised during the discussion:
Resolved:
The Pension Fund Committee;
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PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTMENT: PERFORMANCE REVIEW PDF 105 KB
Purpose of the report: The Surrey Pension Fund has a commitment to invest 5% of the fund in private equity. This is achieved by investing in funds of funds and direct funds, managed by a number of private equity specialists.
The Pension Fund Committee reviews the private equity strategy. This report is a review of the investment performance of the private equity portfolio.
Additional documents: Minutes: Declarations of interest:
None
Witnesses:
Neil Mason, Head of Pensions
Key points raised during the discussion:
Resolved:
The Pension Fund Committee;
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CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SHARE VOTING PDF 100 KB
Purpose of the report: This report provides a summary of the Fund’s share voting process in Q1 of 2018/19 (1 April 2018 to 30 June 2018). The report also includes a class action against BHP who is a firm Surrey had investment in.
Additional documents: Minutes: Declarations of interest:
None
Witnesses:
Neil Mason, Head of Pensions
Key points raised during the discussion:
Actions/ further information to be provided:
None
Resolved:
The Pension Fund Committee noted the report.
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Purpose of the report: A cash-flow analysis allows the Fund to ascertain a projection as to when benefit payments may exceed income. This information can influence both the investment and funding strategy. Minutes: Declarations of interest:
None
Witnesses:
Neil Mason, Head of Pensions
Key points raised during the discussion:
Actions/ further information to be provided:
None
Resolved:
The Committee noted the cash-flow position for quarters four and one.
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VALUATION REPORT 2019 PDF 80 KB
Purpose of the report: This report provides an introduction to the triennial valuation including a draft project plan from the Fund actuary, Hymans Robertson. Additional documents: Minutes: Declarations of interest:
None
Witnesses:
Neil Mason, Head of Pensions Gemma Sefton, Hymans Robertson
Key points raised during the discussion:
Actions/ further information to be provided:
None
Resolved:
The Pension Fund Committee to receive an update report including a summary on the existing strategy and the proposed way forward.
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Purpose of the report: As part of the governance and oversight of the pension fund, a regular review and update to the governance framework, policies and procedures is essential to ensure that the Fund is compliant with latest legislation, regulations and good practice.
There have been significant developments in the LGPS over the past three years, which make a review of the governance of the Fund necessary and appropriate.
This report sets out the scope and timetable for a governance review which, if approved by the Committee, will be jointly undertaken by officers and appointed specialist advisors.
Minutes: Declarations of interest:
None
Witnesses:
Neil Mason, Head of Pensions
Key points raised during the discussion:
Actions/ further information to be provided:
None
Resolved:
The Committee agreed for officers to undertake a governance review and procure specialist governance advisors to assist with this review.
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ANNUAL REPORT/ STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS PDF 77 KB
Purpose of the report: The Pension Fund Committee role is to approve the Annual report which contains the audited statement of accounts together with other information about the Fund’s performance during 2017/18. The annual report is included in Annex 1.
The external auditor (Grant Thornton) has issued an unqualified opinion on the accounts and this is outlined in the Audit Findings for Surrey Pension Fund Report (Annex 2). 1. Additional documents: Minutes: Declarations of interest:
None
Witnesses:
Neil Mason, Head of Pensions Mamon Zaman, Senior Accountant
Key points raised during the discussion:
Actions/ further information to be provided:
None
Resolved:
The Pension Fund Committee,
a) Noted and approved the Annual Report for publication subject to audit approval.
b) Noted the contents of the ‘External Audit Findings for Surrey Pension Fund’ Report which reviewed the Pension Fund Statement of Accounts 2017/18.
c) Noted the Letter of Representation with regards to the Surrey Pension Fund Statement of Accounts.
d) Recognised the good work carried out by the Pension Fund team under the Head of Pensions.
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LOCAL PENSION BOARD REPORT PDF 110 KB
Purpose of the report: This report is a summary of administration and governance issues reviewed by the Local Pension Board at its meeting 25 July 2018 that need to be brought to the attention of the Pension Fund Committee. Additional documents: Minutes: Declarations of interest:
None
Witnesses:
Nick Harrison, Chairman of the Surrey Local Pension Board Clare Chamber, Pensions Service Delivery Manager
Key points raised during the discussion:
Actions/ further information to be provided:
None
Resolved:
The Pension Fund Committee,
a) Considered the recommendations from the Local Pension Board in regards to the Administration Performance Report.
b) Updated the Local Pension Board on the current position regarding pension member representation in the BCPP governance structure.
c) Approved the recommendation of the Board that the new risk of change in Section 151 Officer should be added to the register.
d) Concluded that there were no reviews as to the compliance of particular cases, projects or processes that the Local Pension Board should undertake.
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EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC
Recommendation: That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information under the relevant paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act. Minutes: Resolved: That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information under the relevant paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.
PART TWO – IN PRIVATE |
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NATIONAL POOLING UPDATE
Purpose of the report:The Border to Coast Pension Partnership (BCPP) ambition is to establish a fully regulated asset management company that is ready to accept the transition of assets, as required by government. The working timeline is expected to commence in transitioning Surrey Pension Fund assets from quarter four in 2018.
Additional documents: Minutes: Declarations of interest:
None
Witnesses:
Neil Mason, Head of Pensions
Key point raised during the discussion:
Resolved:
The Pension Fund Committee,
a) Noted the report and progress made towards satisfying the “necessary conditions” of governance required to enable the transition of the UK equity portion of the Surrey Pension Fund portfolio to the BCPP.
b) Reaffirmed the approval given at its meeting of 8 June 2018 to delegate authority to the Director of Finance, in consultation with the Chairman of the Pension Fund Committee, to transition the UK equity portion of the Surrey Pension Fund portfolio to the BCPP, assuming that the “necessary conditions” of governance have been satisfied.
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PUBLICITY OF PART 2 ITEMS
To consider whether the item considered under Part 2 of the agenda should be made available to the Press and public. Minutes: The Committee agreed to share the recommendations of Part 2 items for public publication.
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DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of the Surrey Pension Fund Committee will be on 16 November 2018. Minutes: The Surrey Pension Fund Committee noted its next meeting to be held on 16 November 2018. |