Issue - meetings

To consider the Investment Managers Report

The information was accepted.

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.