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APOLOGIES To receive any apologies for absence Minutes: Apologies were received
from Victoria Hallaron (Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd), Anthony Deakin (Cartrefi
Conwy) and Councillor Stephen Churchman (Chair of the Pensions Committee). It was noted that Victoria Hallaron had by now
resigned as a member of the Board. She was thanked for all her support and was
wished well for the future. |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest Minutes: No declarations of personal interest were
received from any members present. |
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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: ·
28.3.17 - Meeting of the LGPS Local Pension Board
Chairs in Wales. Oral feedback was received from Osian Richards from the
meeting and he noted the main comments: -
Transparency needed to be ensured -
That the Board was to add value -
A suggestion to combine training and conference
dates for the Members of the Pensions Committees and the Pension Boards -
A general discussion would need to be held to
attempt to solve arrangements - Wales needed to
secure a strong representative on the Advisory Board ·
Bournemouth Conference 29-30.6.17. A request for two
members of the Board to attend (as well as an officer and two members from the
Pensions Committee) It was proposed
that Councillor Aled Evans and Mr Tony Deakin attended - Mr Osian Richards
would be available as a substitute. |
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The
Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meeting of this committee held on 13.2.17 be signed as a true record. Minutes: The Chair signed the minutes of the previous
meeting of this committee, held on 13 February 2017, as a true record. |
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MINUTES OF PENSIONS COMMITTEE To submit,
for information, minutes of the Pensions Committee meeting held on the 19.01.17 Minutes: The minutes of the
Pensions Committee held on 19.1.17 were accepted for information. |
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To consider
the report of the Investment Manager Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted - the
Pension Fund's risk register to the Members for information. It was highlighted
that the register's main purpose was to identify and monitor significant risks,
listing the processes that were in their place to alleviate the risks, if
possible. It was noted that the document was operational and that there would
be regular reviews for any risks that was developed. In terms of
arrangements, it was highlighted that the register would be presented to the
Pensions Committee following consideration from the Board. The register was
discussed per heading. Matters arising from the discussion: ·
It was suggested to add a point regarding
'conflicts of interest' in the Governing column ·
Robust governing arrangements were welcomed ·
'Reputation' was key ·
Finance and investments - needed to be transparent ·
By moving to pooling arrangements, it was key that
Gwynedd were aware of what they were paying ·
There was a need to be open to the risk of small
employers in our Fund possibly coming to an end ·
There was a suggestion to include 'staff departure
from employer' as an additional risk ·
There was a need to draw up an additional staff
resources structure ·
The Investment Pool's current risk was high In response to an
observation regarding a small employer coming to an end, the Head of Finance
Department noted that given the number of small employers in the Fund, they
were not a big proportion of the whole Fund and, as a result, the impact of
losing them would not be striking, but that it would be a risk that should be
recorded. In response to an
observation regarding the 'current' Welsh Investment Pool risk being high, it
was noted that this was mainly due to the Westminster Government's timetable.
It was argued that it was an insignificant date and that the priority was for
the work and the arrangements to be made correctly rather than keep to a
timetable. In response to a
question regarding whether there were service level agreements, the Head of
Finance Department noted that employers had entrance agreements only. It was
reiterated that the Fund would promote and encourage employers to adhere to the
regulations and, should they fail to conform, this would be solved through a
discussion or alternative steps, with the national regulations protecting the
benefits of the Fund and the employer fairly. In response to a
question regarding the use of the risk register, it was highlighted that the
register was a live document and was a useful one for officers. It was also
highlighted that the Regulator had asked about the existence of the risk
register. The risk register was approved. |
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CONFLICT OF INTEREST To consider
the report of the Investment Manager Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted – the report of
the Investment Manager highlighting information on the code of conduct to
Members, and information on a specific section within the constitution which
dealt with conflicts of interest and what action a Member was expected to take. It was noted that this was a
document for information and should anyone have any concerns regarding
declaring an interest, the best thing to do would be to ask the Monitoring
Officer. The information was accepted. |
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BOARD REPORT FOR THE PENSION FUND ANNUAL REPORT To consider
the report of the Investment Manager Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted - the report of the Investment Manager,
requesting the members of
the Board to contribute to
the content of the Pension Board's report for the Annual Report of the Pension Fund 2016/2017. It was highlighted that the timetable had not allowed the report to be discussed and approved at a meeting of the Pension Board before the Annual Meeting last year, and
therefore the Members were asked to agree
to initial matters or observations to be included in the report this year. Observations from the discussion: ·
That the Board had an independent opinion, but it
also attempted to add value and
assist the Fund's administrators ·
The Board behaved as a soundboard ·
That developing Welsh Pooling
was a significant part of
the scrutinising this year and implementation
matters in the context of traditional investments had not arisen ·
Needed to consider which elements had been valuable for
the officers It was suggested for further
comments to be referred directly to the Chair or the Investment Manager The information was accepted. |
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To consider
the report of the Investment Manager Minutes: It was highlighted that Victoria Hallaron had (the Fund's member
representative) by now had resigned as a member of the Board and therefore a
new member needed to be appointed in her place. The Head of Finance Department
highlighted that he had already held a discussion with the Monitoring Officer
and it was confirmed that another Members’ representative needed to be
appointed. It was reiterated that an e-mail would be sent out to all employers and
unions, inviting applications / nominations for a representative. The intention
was to ensure that the appointment would be achieved by the term of the new
Council, by appointing in a similar way to what had happened when appointing
the Board's current members. The information was accepted. |
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To consider
the report of the Investment Manager Minutes: Submitted
– the draft work programme for the year. It was reiterated
that the dates needed to be amended in accordance with the timetable of the
Council's Committees. The intention was to hold the Pension Board meeting
within four weeks of the Pensions Committee meeting in order to ensure that the
Committee's latest minutes were distributed with the Board's agenda. The work programme
was discussed and the following observations were proposed: ·
Needed to have an opportunity to receive oral
feedback from the conference in June ·
Needed to consider grievances ·
Manage information / raise awareness for criminal
matters ·
Needed to decide when would be best to discuss
moral investments It was reiterated
that it would be possible to add matters arising during the year to the work
programme and any suggestions could be referred to the Investment Manager. Members were thanked for their contribution. |