Agenda and draft minutes

To elect a Chairman for this meeting

RESOLVED to elect Councillor Peredur Jenkins as Chairman for the meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies were received from Councillor Robin Williams (Anglesey County Council), Geraint Owen (Head of Corporate Services) and Huw Trainor (North Wales Police)

To receive any declaration of personal interest.

No declarations of personal interest were received from any members 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 2019/20

a)         Note from the Chair – Councillor Peredur Jenkins

Everyone was welcomed to the annual meeting of the Pension Fund.

Councillor John Pughe Roberts was thanked for his dedicated work as the Chairman of the Pensions Committee for the past two years. It was noted that the former chair had presided over a developmental and prosperous period for the Fund, where he played an influential part on behalf of Gwynedd as a member of the Wales Pension Partnership Governance Joint Committee.

b)           Note from the Chair of the Pension Board (2019/20) - Mr Osian Richards

Reference was made to the annual report of the Fund's Pension Board that had been included in the report along with the main functions of the Board as a body that monitored and reviewed the decisions of the Pension Committee and the work of the Administration Unit. He expressed that there was a strong relationship with the Board, and that the Board had assisted and contributed to the Fund's success.

c)            Presentation of the Head of Finance Department - Annual Report of the Pension Scheme   for 2019/20

He noted that 2019/20 had been an exceptionally challenging year, with the Fund succeeding to achieve positive returns, although the impact of Covid-19 could be seen on the fund at the end of March 2020. It was reported that the Fund's value at 31/03/2020 was £1,938.3 million, compared to a value of £2,081.3 million at 31/03/2019. Nevertheless, it was pleasing to report that the values since the end of the last financial year had bounced back, with the worldwide equity values continuing to increase. It was reported that the value of the Fund at 30/06/20 was £2,162.1 million and by 30/09/20 it was £2,217.7 million.

On 9 November, Pfizer announced a vaccine that was 90% effective, and in response, the markets increased by approximately 7%. It was noted that this was the strongest week since April 2020, but with a comparative fall on the following Friday as investors considered that it would take some time for the vaccine to be distributed and for the economy to recover. It was added that in terms of performance, the fund was doing well, due to the wise decisions made by the Committee and the Investment Managers who worked on our behalf.

In the context of the Gwynedd Pensions Partnership, it was reported that since its inception in 2017, collaboration had gone from strength to strength with officers meeting frequently. Since the lockdown period, it was reported that all the partnership's events had been held virtually, but the work had continued with new funds launched, and a number of events held. Members were reminded of all managers who supported the Fund, and the benefits that had accrued as a result of joining the partnership, such as expanding the number of investment managers within our portfolio, and a reduction in fees. It was reported that between July and October 2020, five Fixed Income funds had been created by the Wales Pension Partnership, and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.