Agenda, decisions and minutes
Venue: Cyfarfod Rhithiol / Virtual Meeting. View directions
Contact: Lowri Haf Evans 01286 679878
No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES To receive
any apologies for absence Minutes: None to note |
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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: None to note |
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The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meeting of this committee held on the 14th of October 2020 to be signed as a true record Minutes: The Chair accepted the minutes of the meeting held on 14 October 2020 as
a true record. |
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BUDGET APPROVAL FOR 2021/22 PDF 130 KB To approve the 2021/22 financial year budget for the Pensions Administration and Investment sections. Decision: DECISION: To approve the 2021/22 financial
year budget for the Pensions Administration and Investment sections. Minutes: Submitted - a
report by the Investment Manager relating to a request for the Committee to
approve the budget for the 2021-2022 financial year, for the Pension
Administration and Investment Sections. It was noted that 2019/2020 was the first time for the budget
for the Units to be submitted to the Pensions Committee for approval, and it
was now intended to submit the information annually. The 2019/20 budget was amended according to changes to the staffing structure
of the Pensions Administration and Investment Sections - there were only minor
adjustments to the 2021/22 budget, with the basic budgets remaining the same. RESOLVED to approve the 2021/22 financial year budget for the Pensions Administration and Investment sections. |
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TREASURY MANAGEMENT 2020/21 - MID YEAR REVIEW PDF 303 KB To consider the
Investment Managers Report Decision: To accept the report for information Minutes: Submitted, for
information – a report highlighting the Council's actual Treasury Management
activity during the current financial year. It was
highlighted that, during the six months between 1 April and 30 September
2020, the Council’s borrowing activity had remained within the limits
originally set. There were no defaults by banks in which the
Council deposited money. It was added that it
was estimated that the Council's investment income was lower than the expected
income in the 2020/21 budget. In the light of
the pandemic crisis and the likelihood of unexpected demands on cash flow, the
Council had kept more cash available at very short notice than was normal. Liquid cash had been diversified over several
counterparties and Money Market Funds to manage both credit and liquidity
risks. It was explained that £10m of the Council's investments were
held in externally managed strategic pooled property and equity funds where
short-term security and liquidity were lesser considerations. Consequently, the
objectives were realised through regular revenue income and long-term price stability.
It was reported that the Council measured the financial
performance of its treasury management activities both in terms of its impact
on the revenue budget and its relationship to benchmark interest rates. It was noted that the Bank rate, which was 0.75% in February, now
stood at 0.1%, but interest earned from short dated money markets would be
significantly lower. Attention was drawn to the interest rate indicators, and
it was noted that the risk indicator ‘upper
limit on one-year revenue impact of a 1% rise in interest rates’ complied
due to the impact of poor interest rates. With the weak and
unstable outlook, it was reported that the Council was
investing as must as possible in a challenging period; was continuing to do its
best to make gains by spreading risk, but was also operating carefully in line
with Arlingclose's advice. Members expressed
their thanks for the report. In response to a
question about the outlook, it was noted that the
report had been written in September 2020 RESOLVED to accept the report for information. |
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BAILLIE GIFFORD GLOBAL ALPHA PARIS ALIGNED FUND PDF 182 KB To ask the Pensions Committee to agree the movement of its current Baillie Gifford core fund to the Baillie Gifford Global Alpha Paris Aligned fund. Decision: To approve the
movement of the current holdings in the Baillie Gifford Core Fund to the
Baillie Gifford Global Alpha Paris Aligned fund which forms part of the WPP
Global Growth fund in accordance with the discussion at the most recent
Investment Panel Minutes: Submitted - the
report of the Investment Manager requesting the Committee's approval to agree
to the movement of its current Baillie Gifford core fund to the Baillie Gifford
Global Alpha Paris Aligned fund. Members were reminded
that Baillie Gifford had submitted information on the Alpha Paris Aligned fund
in a meeting of the Investment Panel on 14 October 2020. It was
explained that the Global Alpha Paris Aligned Fund was a lower carbon
variant of the core model and was aligned to the objectives of the Paris
Agreement and the investment principles of the Gwynedd Pension Fund. It was reiterated that all the constituent pension funds that
were part of the Global Growth Fund must agree to the transfer. Once the funds
had made their decision locally, an official decision would
be made by the Joint Committee. It was reported
that this was a positive step forward, and that more information would follow
about further improvements. Members expressed
their thanks for the report. RESOLVED to approve the movement of the current
holdings in the Baillie Gifford Core Fund to the Baillie Gifford Global Alpha
Paris Aligned fund which forms part of the WPP Global Growth fund in accordance
with the discussion at the most recent Investment Panel. |
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SETTING OBJECTIVES FOR INVESTMENT CONSULTANTS PDF 118 KB To report progress against current objectives and to review future
objectives Additional documents: Decision: RESOLVED to accept the report and formally approve the
objectives already set for the Fund's investment advisers. Minutes: Submitted - the
report of the Investment Manager, reporting on progress against current
objectives and requesting that the Committee reviewed and approved the
objectives for 2020/21. It was reported, following a review of the of the
investment consulting and fiduciary management markets, that the Competition
and Markets Authority had noted that Pension Scheme Trustees should set
objectives for their investment consultants, and clearly stipulate the
expectations upon them. Reference was made to the current objectives and the progress made
against those objectives during 2019/20. It was noted
that the objectives had been operational since December 2019, but had not been
formally accepted by the Committee despite the compliance statement having been
signed by the Committee Chair by the required deadline (7 January 2021). It was reported that Hymans was delivering good work, providing
comprehensive reports for the investment panel, offering practical and prompt
advice, responses and correspondence, and performing in accordance with the
objectives. Members expressed
their thanks for the report, and an observation was made
that it was expected that the objectives were submitted annually to the Pension
Committee in accordance with the Act's requirements. Mr Paul Potter
from Hymans was thanked for his advice and support to
the Pension Fund over the past 12 years. He was wished a happy retirement. RESOLVED to accept
the report and to formally approve the objectives that
had already been set for the Fund's investment consultants |
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PUBLIC SECTOR EXIT PAYMENT REGULATIONS 2020 PDF 283 KB To consider the
Pension Managers Report Decision: To accept the report for information Minutes: Submitted for information – the report of the Pensions
Manager providing an update on the Restriction of Public Sector Exit Payments
Regulations that came into force on 4 November 2020. Attention was drawn in the
report to the impact of the recent reforms on public sector workers, and to
further (draft) amendments that had been proposed by
the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government which were expected
to come into force during spring 2021. It was highlighted that the
reforms were creating confusion and additional work pressures, and in response
to these national factors, the Fund's administrative software provider had to
update the system to calculate the new options. During the ensuing
discussion, the following observations were noted: ·
Exit payment
regulations were an extremely complex and technical area ·
The decision was
out of the Authority's hands, and there was therefore no choice in the matter In response to an observation that the exit payments
cap would not be index linked, and whether the cap was likely to be reviewed, it was noted that there would be no further
amendment or review of this. In response to a question on whether a lump sum could be used to avoid the cap threshold, it was noted that
if there were further changes to the regulations, a lump sum could be used to
receive reduced benefits RESOLVED to accept the report for information |
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NEW COMMUNICATION POLICY STATEMENT PDF 372 KB To receive the Committee's approval to adopt the new Communication Policy Statement Additional documents: Decision: To approve the new Communication Policy Statement Minutes: Submitted - the report of the Pensions Manager,
requesting that the Committee adopted the new Communication Policy Statement.
It was explained that the Fund must provide, maintain
and publish a Communication Policy Statement in accordance with Regulation 67
of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Administration Regulations. It was added that the communication policy must be revised and
republished following any change in policy. Following various changes to
communication methods recently, the statement had to be
amended to include current communication methods and add the use of
Microsoft Teams, I-Connect and the Self-service resource. It was
noted that Gwynedd's policy had not been updated since 2010. The policy
statement had been submitted to the Pension Board on
23.11.20 and the policy had been revised in accordance with their comments. In response to an observation regarding communication
with prospective Members, it was noted that it was a
matter for each employer to note that membership of the scheme was one of the
benefits of the post. In response to a question, it was
confirmed that the communication policy statement was consistent with
Gwynedd Council's Language Policy. During the ensuing discussion, the following
observation was noted: ·
There was a need
to consider communication methods with prospective employers RESOLVED to
approve the adoption of the new Communication Policy Statement |