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No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES To receive
any apologies for absence Minutes: Apologies were
received from Councillors Stephen Churchman, Peredur Jenkins and John P.
Roberts. Osian Richards, a
member of the Pensions Board, was welcomed to the meeting, as an observer. |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive
any declaration of personal interest Minutes: None to note |
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URGENT ITEMS To note any
items which are urgent business in the opinion of the Chairman so that they may
be considered Minutes: Dates for information: 27 - 28
June 2016 Members'
Training in London 23 - 24 June 2016 'In at the Deep End' Conference.
It was decided that Cllrs Trefor Edwards and Glyn
Thomas would attend and also an invitation to two members of the Pensions
Board. |
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The
Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meeting of this committee held
on 11.2.2016 to be signed as a true record Minutes: The Chairman signed the minutes of the previous
meeting of this committee, held on 11 February 2016, as a true record. |
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TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY STATEMENT AND ANNUAL INVESTMENT STRATEGY FOR 2016/17 PDF 351 KB Consider
the Head of Finance report Additional documents: Minutes: It was explained that in accordance with the Welsh Government's Statutory
Guidance on Local Government Investments, that the Council was required, as
part of its treasury management function, to prepare an Annual Investment
Strategy. As good practice, it was considered that the Gwynedd Pension Fund (the "Fund"), should adopt Gwynedd Council's Treasury Management Strategy, as revised for
the purpose of the Pensions
Fund. Submitted - the
report of the Head of Finance, requesting the Pensions Committee to approve the
Annual Treasury Management Statement and the Investment Strategy for 2016/2017.
It was explained that Gwynedd Council's Statement had already been scrutinised
by the Audit Committee (February 11.2.16) and approved by the Full Council on 3
March 2016. In addition, the Pensions Committee was
requested to make a request to the Council to allow the surplus cash balances
of the Pensions Fund to continue to be pooled with the Authority's general cash
flow from 1 April onwards. It was explained that pooling the fund attracted
better interest rates, reduced banking costs and avoided duplication of work
within the Council. Considering the
increased risks and the continuation of low returns from short-term unsecured
investments, the Authority's objective for 2016/17 was noted, namely, to
diversify to more secure/ higher yielding assets. At the moment, most of the
Authority's surplus cash was invested in unsecured bank deposits, certificates
of deposits and money-market funds. It was reiterated that Arlingclose,
the Authority's treasury advisor, offered creative investment methods and,
therefore, the diversification would represent a substantial change in the
strategy over the coming year. The recommendations were proposed and seconded. RESOLVED ·
To approve the Treasury
Management Strategy Statement and the Annual Investment Strategy for 2016/17,
as revised for the purpose of the Pensions Fund. ·
To request that the
Council (although not a separate body) to allow the surplus cash balances of
the Pension Fund to continue to be pooled with the Council’s general cash flow
from 1 April 2016 onwards. |
|
STATEMENT OF INVESTMENT PRINCIPLES PDF 103 KB Consider
the Investment Managers report Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted - the report of the Investment
Manager, requesting the Committee to adopt the Statement of Investment
Principles. It was noted that the revised document included amendments that had
been introduced in November 2015. It was reported, following an eight week
consultation period, that there was a need for the Committee to formally adopt
the final version. (It was highlighted that although there were very few
amendments to the Statement, it was required for them to be implemented.) Attention was drawn to the responsibility of the
Investment Manager and it was outlined that the statement established
boundaries and responsibilities. Proposed and seconded to adopt the revised
Statement of Investment Principles. RESOLVED to formally adopt the Statement of Investment Principles |
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WESTMINSTER GOVERNMENT (DCLG) CONSULTATIONS UPDATE PDF 8 KB Consider the Investment Managers report Minutes: Submitted - the report of the Head of Finance
Department, reminding Members that responses had been submitted to two recent
consultations issued by DCLG, as follows: a)
Local
Government Pension Scheme: Investment Reform Criteria and Guidance. b)
Revoking
and Replacing the Local Government Pension Scheme (Management and Investment of
Funds) Regulations 2009. It was reported that the Government had not
responded to the consultations and the funds continued to wait for a decision.
It was suggested that there could be two possible responses - either permit ONE
fund for Wales or to merge with a fund over the border. It was highlighted that the situation was
vulnerable and it was unlikely that guidance would be offered on the matter
from the Westminster Government. Should
Gwynedd merge with other funds over the border, the Chairman and Head of
Finance Department would be required to hold discussions with funds in order to
secure the best interest of the Gwynedd pension fund. A request was made for
the Westminster Government's response to be shared when published. Should the
need arise to share further information, then a decision would be made to
convene an extraordinary meeting. The observations were
accepted. |