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Contact: Lowri Haf Evans 01286 679878
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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: Following issuing a consultation by the Treasury, it was reported that the MHCLG had issued a consultation on the proposed amendments to the Local Government Pension Scheme in response to the judgement in the McCloud case. It was reported that the Head of Finance, the Pensions Manager and the Investment Manager would draw up a draft response in consultation with the Chairs of the Committee and Pension Board (closing date 11th October 2020). It was added that the Pensions Manager would be working jointly with Hymans to ascertain the number of records that will need to be amended. Although no timetable had been released, it was noted that it was a substantial amount of additional administrative work and would be implemented following the completion of the consultation and receiving the order. |
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The Chairman shall propose that the minutes
of the meeting of this committee held on 03.03.20 be signed
as a true record. Minutes: The Chair
confirmed that the minutes of this meeting, held on the 3rd of February 2020
were a true record subject to noting that a comment had been
made to add the impact of the coronavirus to the risk register. |
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MINUTES OF PENSIONS COMMITTEE To submit, for information, minutes of the Pensions Committee meeting held on the 18th of March 2020 and consider any matters arising Minutes: The minutes of the Pensions Committee held on 18 March 2020,
were accepted for information. Members had no further observations arising from the minutes. |
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GWYNEDD PENSION FUND'S DRAFT STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2020 To consider the
Head of Finance’s report Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted - a report by the Head of Finance providing
details of the Pension Fund's financial activities for the year ending 31st
March 2020. It was highlighted that the accounts (draft) were subject to audit
and the audit would be undertaken by Deloitte. Following a decision by Wales Audit that
accounts were open to public audit until the beginning of September, the final
accounts will be presented to the Audit and Governance
Committee on the 14th of September 2020.
It was reported that the value of
the Fund on 31st March was down £143m, this was due to the implications of the covid 19 pandemic.
It was noted that a substantial drop in the
market value was reflected at the end of March, however, now the values had
risen and remained stable. Reference was made to Note 12, 13
and 14 where wider information was noted on investment costs due to the
involvement with the Gwynedd Fund and the arrangements to pool the combined
investments of the Wales Pension Partnership. The information was ACCEPTED. |
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INVESTMENT STRATEGY STATEMENT To consider the report of the Investment
Manager Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted for information, the report of the Investment Manager. It was reported that the statement was reviewed every three years following valuation and had been discussed with the Investment Panel in May 2020. It would be accepted officially by the Pensions Committee on the 23rd July 2020. Attention was drawn specifically to the allocation of the Fund that reflects the transfer of global equity to the Wales Pension Partnership (WPP) Multi Assets Credit fund - that now forms a significant part of the Gwynedd Fund investments. The officer was thanked for the information. During the ensuing discussion, the following observations were noted: • The document did not highlight risks/lessons learnt from the impact of the covid 19 pandemic and recent events in China - it was suggested that a sentence should be added to the Managers' paragraph (page 57) to reflect that the response had been positive. • There was a need to review the strategy more often bearing recent events in mind, and the direct impact they have on investments. • The Committee had a responsibility to continuously monitor the strategy. • Need to highlight the changes compared to 2019/20. In response to the observations, the Head of Finance noted that Managers in general had responded to the change. Despite concerns regarding future investment in property and infrastructure ('closure' of the high street / no use of offices etc), it was highlighted that these asset classes were broader than the high street and office blocks. (Reference was made to hospitals that are part of the infrastructure and student accommodation asset class as part of the property asset class.) It was added that the property allocation had not been adjusted for years and it was possible to add to this asset class by perhaps investing in property outside Britain considering the strength of the $ v £. It was reported that the Strategy's purpose was to set a framework and did not limit work in any way. It was added that investments were reviewed daily, that Managers offered regular guidance and the Committee reviewed the investments quarterly in the investment panel. Members were also reminded that the Constitution enabled the Head of Finance to make decisions in discussion with the Chair of the Pensions Committee. The information was ACCEPTED. |
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WALES PENSION PARTNERSHIP UPDATE To consider the report of the
Investment Manager Minutes: Submitted - the report of the Investment Manager stating that
since establishing the partnership in 2017, the Partnership was going from
strength to strength with officers meeting often. During the covid 19 pandemic, it was noted
that officers had met every fortnight via Teams and a full meeting had been
programmed 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 the
performance of Pzena that had contributed to the
under performance of the Global Growth Fund up to 31st March 2020, but was now
responsible for the increase in the fund due to their investment methods. Reference was made to the transfer of fixed income that
would be transferred at the end of April, however, by
now this would be transferred at the end of July 2020. In the context of Private Markets, it was noted that a group had been established to look at
possible options to combine assets for this category. It was added that
Russel Investments led on the work of analysing what is available with the
current portfolio and the future development and management of the Wales
Pension Partnership funds. It was reported that a number of
publications and policies had been developed during the last few months and
these could be found on the Partnership website. During the ensuing discussion, the following observations were noted: • It was
pleasing to see that investments were returning and stabilising. • There were
opportunities even in disasters • There was an opportunity to invest in
the Global Market - potential for good returns by being part of a larger Fund The information was accepted. |
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To assist the Chair to complete the annual report Minutes: Submitted for observations, a draft report prepared
for inclusion in the Gwynedd Pension Fund's annual general report. During the ensuing discussion, the following
observations were noted: ·
No reference made
to the pandemic. ·
Need to add the
Mc Cloud case to the Work Programme. ·
Much time had been spent on the training package - request to add a
sentence to convey this. In response to the comment about on-line training, it was reported that it was not mandatory. In response to a test completed by Members of
their knowledge to Hymans, it was suggested that an
analysis of the test was likely to highlight areas where training was
required. It was noted
that no feedback / analysis had been received from Hymans, however, it was
hoped that it would be possible to submit this to the next meeting. RESOLVED to
accept the report |
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ADMINISTRATION UPDATE - WORKING FROM HOME To consider the Pension Managers Report Minutes: Submitted - the report of the Pensions Manager on the
response of the Service to working through the covid 19 pandemic. It was reported that
the Service had been working successfully from home since 25/03/2020. It was highlighted that the service had not
suffered due to the change in work patterns and despite the challenges to be
flexible with some staff and others transferring to other departments, it
appeared that this change has been beneficial to the administrative
department. The work had
been prioritised and use had been made of Teams to communicate and keep
in touch locally and regionally. It was noted that there had been an
increase in the use of the Members’ self-service system and the crisis had
encouraged the team to work in a paperless way (this was more effective,
quicker and cheaper). It was added that various tasks and projects required attention
and these had been timetabled for the next few months. The Head of Finance added his thanks to Gwynedd Council and
Local Government staff for responding to the challenge under the
circumstances. He noted that staff had
worked effectively and conscientiously and although the situation was
disastrous, the work to reduce the impact had been highly commendable. Members expressed their thanks for the report. During the ensuing discussion, the following observations were noted: • Staff were thanked for being flexible and responding to the
challenge • Had
problems arisen with the employers? • Arrangements
had been put in place - more demand / use of
technology / less travel - will this
continue? In response to a comment regarding keeping in touch with
employers, it was reported that much of the contact work was being done via
iconnect and on the whole no problems had arisen. It was added that
they would mainly communicate via e-mail with employers. The information was accepted. |