Agenda and draft minutes

To elect a Chairman for this meeting

RESOLVED to elect Councillor Stephen Churchman as chair for the meeting.

To elect a Vice-chairman for this meeting

RESOLVED to elect Councillor Peredur Jenkins as Vice-chair for the meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence

Councillor Seimon Glyn (Gwynedd Council), Councillor H. Eifion Jones (Isle of Anglesey Council) , Sharon Warnes (Chair of the Pension Board), Victoria Hallaron (Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd / Pension Board), Caroline Owen (Ysgol Bryn Eilian), Kate Jackson (Police Commissioner), Jackie Waddicor (Beaumaris Town Council), Fiona Jones (Isle of Anglesey County Council), Ann Coxton (Blaenau Ffestiniog Town Council), Kathryn Coughlin (Grŵp Llandrillo Menai), Gwyn Jones (Ysgol Eirias), Angela Middleton-Jones (Grŵp Llandrillo Menai), Emyr Roberts (Snowdonia National Park), David O'Neill (CVSC), Paul McGrady (Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd), Jo Cavill (Careers Wales), Geraint Owen (Gwynedd Council), Helen Barritt (Conwy Town Council), Tina Earley (Colwyn Bay Town Council), Caren Bryon (Careers Wales), June Jeremy (WEA Cymru), Einir Wyn Griffith (Gwynedd Council), Huw Ifor Jones (Conwy), Clifford Everett (Holyhead Town Council), Delyth Gwyn Williams (Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd), Medrwn Môn and Llandudno Town Council. 

To receive any declaration of personal interest.

No declarations of personal interest were received from any member present.

To note any items which are urgent business in the opinion of the Chairman so that they may be considered

None to note

To receive the Pension Fund’s Annual Report for 2015-2016

The Head of Finance Department submitted the Pension Fund Annual Report for 2015/16.

Particular attention was given to the main matters of the report, namely:

·                                    Investment Performance

Asset value:

It was reported that an increase had been seen in the value of the Fund's assets from £1,497m (31/03/2015) to £1,525m (31/03/2016) - an annual increase of £28m.  The standard performance benchmark was -0.3% for the 2015/16 year, therefore there was room to be grateful to the Fund's managers for managing to obtain +1.3% during the year.

Between 1 April 2016 and 30 June 2016, it was noted that the market value of the Fund had risen by a further £58m to £1,583m; however, following the UK's referendum on EU Membership and the result of the vote to leave, a direct impact had been seen in the value of the pound and UK interest rates.  The global markets had improved following the original reduction following the results of the referendum; however, it was difficult to anticipate the long-term impact of 'Brexit' on the Gwynedd Pension Fund.

The excellent performance of Veritas (the Fund's equity investors) was highlighted, along with the very good performance of Threadneedle and UBS (property investors), and exceptionally good returns from Partners Group in 2015/16 as Private Equity investments came into fruition, following a long-term investment by the Fund in this category. 

·                                    Joint-investment

It was reported that the Westminster Government had decided to pool the LGPS investments rather than merge funds. This meant that the Gwynedd Pension Fund would continue separate to funds such as Clwyd, Powys, etc; however, the investments would be made through a cooperative structure.  It was reiterated that the eight Welsh Funds had already started to joint-invest.

A consultation had been held by the Department for Communities and Local Government ("DCLG"), demanding presentations from all funds in England and Wales, explaining their collaboration plans and the savings expected to achieve. It was explained that the All Wales collaboration project (worth £12 billion) did not meet the Treasury's standard requirements in terms of size (£25 billion); however, the Government had agreed that the collaboration work should continue. It was noted that the pool's governance structure was being designed and that responsibilities were being agreed upon, before the new structure would be operational in 2017. The hope would be for a governance joint-committee to be established with each of the eight Funds having one vote on it. 

The pooling system would shift the decisions regarding the appointment, monitoring and termination of individual investment managers away from each Fund.  However, the Gwynedd Pensions Committee would continue to be responsible for the investment strategy, and the asset allocation between the categories of equity, property, etc., namely the most significant driver on investment returns. 

It was announced that further information about the joint-investment plans were available on the Fund's website.

The Chair gave assurance that the accountability would remain local which enabled the Fund to respond to the needs of members.  He noted that the next step  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.