Agenda item

BORDER TO COAST PENSIONS PARTNERSHIP: POOLING UPDATE

Purpose of the report: The Pension Fund Committee must be kept apprised of the progress made by the Officer Operations Group (OOG), Joint Committee and BCPP Shareholder Board in the drive to create a full functioning asset pool.

 

Minutes:

Declarations of interest:

 

None

 

Witnesses:

 

Neil Mason, Head of Pensions

John Harrison, Interim Chief Investment Officer, Border to Coast Pension Partnership

Steve Turner, Partner, Mercer

 

Key points raised during the discussion:

 

  1. The Interim Chief Investment Officer informed the Committee that the main element of the report was to show that the process of due diligence had been carried out to ensure the necessary conditions of governance have been satisfied.

 

  1. There was a discussion around transition costs to the BCPP UK Equity Alpha Fund and the Head of Pensions explained these costs would be recouped after 3 to 4 years and a full analysis of savings and costs would be undertaken once the Post Transition Report has been received.

 

  1. It was highlighted that the transition of the Surrey Pension Fund UK equity to BCPP would take place cautiously to ensure the market does not set its prices against the Fund.

 

  1. The Committee agreed to carry forward the recommendation to “approve the delegation of authority to the Director of Finance, in consultation with the Chairman of the Pension Fund Committee, to transition the active global equity portion of the Surrey Pension Fund portfolio to the BCPP national pool when its design has been established to the satisfaction of the officers and Fund advisors and assuming that the “necessary conditions” have been satisfied” to its meeting in February.

 

Tony Elias left the meeting @12.35pm

 

  1. The Head of Pensions was asked by the Committee to replace ‘alternatives’ with ‘sleeves’ to ensure consistency in the report.

 

  1. The Committee discussed the active global equity portion of the Surrey Pension Fund portfolio to the BCPP national pool and were advised by the Interim Chief Investment Officer that funds had the choice to transition their whole fund allocation into the pool to be managed fully by the BCPP or chose to remain in control.

 

Actions/ further information to be provided:

 

  1. Officers to carry forward the recommendation to “approve the delegation of authority to the Director of Finance, in consultation with the Chairman of the Pension Fund Committee, to transition the active global equity portion of the Surrey Pension Fund portfolio to the BCPP national pool when its design has been established to the satisfaction of the officers and Fund advisors and assuming that the “necessary conditions” have been satisfied to the Committee’s meeting in February 2019.

 

 

Resolved:

 

The Pension Fund Committee,

 

a)    Noted that compliance with the “necessary conditions” of governance for the BCPP UK Alpha fund was met on 15 October 2018 and that the transition of the UK equity portion of the Surrey Pension Fund portfolio to the BCPP has commenced.

 

b)    Approved in principle, the transition of the active global equity portion of the Surrey Pension Fund portfolio to the BCPP national pool when its design has been established to the satisfaction of officers and Fund advisors and assuming that the “necessary conditions” of governance have been satisfied.

 

c)    Approved (subject to meeting “necessary conditions” prior to launch) a 2019 commitment consistent with the Surrey Pension Fund target asset allocation to Private Equity within the BCPP Alternatives investment proposition.