7 WALES PENSION PARTNERSHIP UPDATE PDF 242 KB
To consider the
Investment Managers Report
Decision:
The information was accepted.
Minutes:
Submitted – a report by the Investment Manager stating that
since its establishment in 2017, the Partnership had been going from strength
to strength with officers meeting often. During the Covid-19 pandemic, it was noted that officers had been meeting every fortnight via
Teams and that a full meeting had been scheduled for the 24th of July 2020.
Attention was drawn to the Fund's performance, and despite
the pandemic it appeared that the market had recovered
very well. Reference was
made to Pzena's performance, who had
contributed to the under-performance of the Global Growth Fund up to 31st March
2020, but who was now responsible for the increase in the fund due to their
investment methods.
Reference was made to the fixed income transfer
which had been due to take place at the end of April, however, it would
now be transferred at the end of July 2020.
With regard to Emerging Markets, it was noted
that work on these had been quiet over the pandemic but it would be a priority
area for the next six months, with an Investment Managers structure to be
determined for this new fund. With regard to Private Markets, it was reported that a group had been established to look at
potential options of pooling assets into this category. It was
added that Russell Investments were leading on analysing the options
available with the current portfolio, and the development and management of
Wales Pension Partnership funds. It was noted that
individual discussions were required with all Funds to seek a way forward with
'property'. Although satisfied with the
current portfolio, the officer highlighted that there were opportunities for
further investment with Global Equity property. With a possible allocation of
10% in property, it was noted that only 9% was being
used at present, with the suggestion to increase to the full 10%.
During the
ensuing discussion, the following observations were noted:
• Members anticipated that the
situation with property would worsen globally as a side-effect
of Covid-19, with reduced demand for business premises. Despite this, it was a
good reason to move ahead using the remaining funding, provided we were
cautious with ’selling’.
• The Fund must act carefully – the
Covid-19 pandemic had impacted the whole World, therefore it was essential to
consider carefully the types of investments before transferring.
In response to the members' observations, it was noted that the crisis had made it even more pressing to
act. It was added that 80% of the Gwynedd Fund had
already been transferred to the WPP Fund. There was no intention to rush to
make further investments, but opportunities were presenting themselves where
they could take advantage, for example, looking maybe at the possibility of
further investment in Wales's infrastructure.
The information was accepted.