Agenda and draft minutes

To elect a Chairman for this meeting

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

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies were received from Councillor Simon Glyn

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 2020/21

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

a)         Head of Finance's Presentation

He noted that 2020/21 had been a challenging year, with the Fund succeeding to achieve positive returns. It was reported that the Fund's value on 31/03/2021 was £2,515.2 billion, compared to £1,938.3 billion on 31/03/2020, with the values bouncing back and the fund performing higher than the benchmark over the period. It was reiterated that the strong performance of the equity markets in 2020/21 was very encouraging, and that it bodes well for the next valuation.

It was highlighted that, out of 100 UK Local Government Pension Scheme funds, the Gwynedd Pension Fund's 2020/21 performance was ranked in 16th place, with an increase in asset value of 29.3% which was well above the average of 22.7%. It was also noted that over the long term, the Fund's relative performance has steadily improved, moving from the 46th position over the past 20 years since 2001, to the 20th position over the last 3 years.

In discussing the Wales Pension Partnership (WWP), it was reported that the collaboration was going from strength to strength since its inception in 2017.  Since the lockdown period, it was highlighted that all the partnership's events had been held virtually, work had continued, new funds were launched, and a number of events were held.  It was reported that the Gwynedd Pension Fund had investments in five Wales Pension Partnership sub-funds by the end of November 2021, with investments in global equities, fixed income and emerging markets.

Everyone was reminded of the benefits that had accrued from joining the Wales Pension Partnership, which included expanding investment opportunities through the use of a variety of portfolio investment managers, and a reduction in fees.  In February 2019, two sub-funds were established (Global Growth and Global Opportunities) with an initial investment of £303m in each fund. By now, with the investments having been in the funds for over two and a half years, consideration could be given to measuring performance in a meaningful way.  It was stated that the funds had performed exceptionally well, with Global Growth returning 3.4%, and Global Opportunities returning 2.0% higher than the benchmark since its inception.

An element of Fidelity's equity mandate (£166m) was transferred to the Wales Pension Partnership Multi Asset Credit sub-fund in July 2020, and £291m was transferred from Insight's mandate to the Wales Pension Partnership Absolute Return Bond sub-fund in October 2020.  It was noted that, although it was early to assess the performance of these funds, their performance had been higher than the benchmark since their inception. In October 2021, the emerging markets investment was transferred to a new Wales Pension Partnership fund with 6 managers, including Bin Yuan who specialises in China.  By November 2021, 83% of the Gwynedd Pension Fund's assets were pooled with the Wales Pension Partnership. 

In discussing responsible investment, which is a priority area for the Committee and the Pension Board, it was noted that the Council had released a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.