Venue: Ystafell Gwyrfai, Council Offices, Caernarfon, Gwynedd. LL55 1SH
Contact: Lowri Haf Evans 01286 679878
No. | Item |
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ELECT CHAIR To elect a Chair for 2019 - 20 Minutes: It was resolved to elect Councillor John Pughe Roberts as Chair of this
Committee for the year 2019/20. |
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ELECT VICE CHAIR To elect a Vice-chair for 2019 - 20 Minutes: It was resolved to elect Councillor Peredur Jenkins as Vice-chair of this
Committee for the year 2019/20. |
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APOLOGIES To receive
any apologies for absence Minutes: Apologies was
received from Councillors David Cowans (Conwy Borough Council) and Simon
Glyn. |
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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 14 March 2019 to be signed as a true record Minutes: The Chair signed the minutes of the meeting of this committee, held on 14
March 2019, as a true record. |
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INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT PDF 81 KB To consider the Investment Manager’s
report Minutes: Following a
presentation and discussion at the quarterly Investment Panel of the Gwynedd
Pension Fund on 21st of February 2019, the need was highlighted for the
Committee to confirm a direct investment in the Partners Group Global
Infrastructure 2018 Fund, in accordance with the opinion of the Investment
Panel in order to formalise the agreement.
The panel's opinion was to invest £25 million in a direct equity fund
with Partners Group. RESOLVED to invest
£25 million in a direct equity fund with Partners Group Global Infrastructure
2018 Fund. |
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WALES PENSIONS PARTNERSHIP (WPP):ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE (ESG) PDF 46 KB To consider the
report of the Investment Manager Additional documents: Minutes: A request was
submitted by the Wales Pensions Partnership for all Funds within the
partnership to consider and approve the contents of their proposed draft
Environmental, Social and Governance Policy. It was highlighted that the
Gwynedd Fund had adopted the fundamental principles about responsible investing
emphasising that 'ESG' factors should be embedded in the investment processes
and in the decision-making processes of the Fund managers. In terms of Gwynedd, it was noted that the proposed
policy had been drafted following Gwynedd's adoption of its own
principles. It was added that the policy
included matters that were in accordance with the Gwynedd policy. RESOLVED to approve the contents of the Environmental,
Social and Governance Policy of the Wales Pensions Partnership. |
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PUBLIC SECTOR EXIT PAYMENT CAP PDF 53 KB To submit, for information the report of the
Head of Finance Additional documents:
Minutes: Submitted - for information, a report highlighting that the Westminster
Government was consulting on capping public sector exit payments – implementing
a £95k exit payment cap. It was noted that
the details of the Westminster Government's proposal were somewhat ambiguous
and that it currently led to more questions than answers, and the Welsh
Government had not yet shared their view on the matter. It was highlighted that
Welsh Ministers had powers to relax the restrictions, and there was a
suggestion within Welsh local government that an exit cap for Wales should not
include pension strain. It was noted that Welsh Government could relax the requirement
as appropriate, and could also consider reducing the £95k threshold. It was explained that the consultation would close on 3 July 2019. RESOLVED to encourage
Gwynedd Fund employers to respond to the consultation. |
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MINISTRY OF HOUSING, COMMUNITIES and LOCAL GOVERNMENT'S (MHCLG) POLICY CONSULTATION PDF 48 KB To consider the Head
of Finance’s Report Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted for information, a report highlighting that the Ministry for
Housing, Communities and Local Government's Policy was undertaking a
consultation - Local Government Pension Scheme: Changes to the local valuation
cycle and the management of employer risk policy. It was highlighted that the Westminster
Government was proposing to amend regulations so that the Local Government
Pension Scheme valuations would change from a three-year to a four-year cycle. It was reported that a three-year cycle was appropriate for accumulated
schemes, such as the Gwynedd Fund, and it was stated that the initial argument
was that it would be negligent to change to a four-year cycle due to reasons of
convenience and to standardise the UK Government's national arrangements. It
was added that there were no clear reasons for the proposed change, and no
business case had been included. It was explained that the consultation would close on 31 July 2019, and
that officers would seek guidance from the Fund's actuaries and other professional
bodies. It was noted that the intention
was to prepare a draft response in consultation with the Pensions Committee
Chair, and submit this response for approval by the Pension Committee on 29
July 2019. In the meantime, members were
encouraged to send any observations to the Head of Finance. RESOLVED to accept the
information and support the officers in their response to the consultation |
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ATTENDANCE IN CONFERENCES PDF 41 KB To select representatives from the Pensions Committee to attend upcoming
conferences Additional documents:
Minutes: Submitted - a
report informing the members about relevant conferences and events and seeking
nominations for attendance on behalf of Gwynedd Pension Fund. It was reported
that there was an additional event that had not been included in the report to
be attended in Edinburgh on the 10th of October 2019. RESOLVED: ·
LGC Investment Summit, Celtic
Manor Resort, Newport 4 - 6 June 2019 Councillors John P
Roberts and John Brynmor Hughes ·
Russel Investments Annual
Summit, Portland Place, London 13 November 2019 Councillors John Pughe Roberts, Stephen Churchman and Robin Williams ·
LAPFF Annual Conference,
Hilton Hotel, Bournemouth 4 - 6 December 2019 Councillor Stephen
Churchman ·
LGPS Governance Conference,
Principal Hotel, York 23 - 24 January 2020 Councillors Peredur
Jenkins and John Brynmor Hughes ·
LAPF Strategic Investment Forum,
The Grove, Hertfordshire 2 - 4 July 2019 Councillors John Pughe
Roberts and Aled Wyn Jones ·
‘LGC Investment Seminar, Carden Park, Cheshire 27 – 28 February 2020 Councillors Robin
Williams, Peter Read and John Brynmor Hughes ·
Baillie Gifford Conference,
Edinburgh 10 October 2019 Councillors John Pughe
Roberts and Stephen Churchman |
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PENSIONS MEETING DATES PDF 70 KB To
submit information for the members of relevant dates for meetings Minutes: Submitted, for information, the dates of Pension
meetings until May 2020 to enable members to plan accordingly. Attention was drawn to a possible change to one of
the dates. It was reported that it was possible that the Wales Pension
Partnership Joint Committee meeting would be held on 4 September 2019, not 20
September, as noted in the report. RESOLVED to accept
the information. |