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There is no summary of this meeting yet. One is written once the council publishes the minutes. The agenda and papers are below.
1.1 Apologies were given by Councillor Best as he would be late to the meeting.
2.1 Members confirmed the following declarations of personal interest: Councillor In Receipt of Pension Contributor Karl Gauden NONE Self, wife, step-daughter and step-daughter’s partner Jon Horlor NONE Self David Williams Self and wife Self and wife Nathan Yeowell Father and two other family members (aunts) Self 2.2 In addition to the above, Councillor Gauden also declared a personal interest due to his work as a Unison official. 2.3 The PS left the meeting.
4.2 The minutes of the meeting held on 11/09/2023 were confirmed as an accurate record.
4.2 The minutes of the meeting held on 13/11/2023 were confirmed as an accurate record.
5.1 The Committee noted the minutes.
6.1 The HoP outlined the report and provided an overview of the funding and investment environment since the last strategic asset allocation review in 2019. 6.2 In general, the Fund’s performance over the three-year period had been strong. The table on page 40 of the report showed a comparison of the current asset allocation versus what had been previously agreed in 2019. A number of asset classes within the table did not reach the target percentage of allocation as agreed in 2019, such as private market alternatives. One of the main reasons for this deviation was as the implementation of Private Market Alternative assets typically progressed at a much slower pace than other asset classes. The Fund’s funding level had improved significantly since 2019 but it was acknowledged that there was still a level of uncertainty due to the LGPS being an open scheme. The driving factor in the increase seen in return between 2019 and 2022 was the diversification of the fund whilst balancing risk. 6.3 Currently 25% of the Greater Gwent Pension Fund portfolio was within Global Passive exposure which was felt to be too large a portion of the Fund. There was consideration as to whether this exposure should be gradually decreased to 15% in favour of Global Active exposure. There would be conversations held with BlackRock asset management firm to discuss potential alternatives and strategies within the parameters of the All-Wales pooling framework that has been in place for several years and pre-dated the WPP arrangements. 6.4 The proposed Strategic Asset Allocation for 2023 could be seen on page 52 of the report. The new proposal broadly resembled the 2019 Strategic Asset Allocation which provided reassurance that the strategy had been working as expected. 6.5 Councillor Best joined the meeting and declared that he had no personal or prejudicial interests. 6.6 Following questions from the Committee, the HoP made the following points: The Greater Gwent Pension Fund returns were listed within the report. There was information within a previous report which compared the Fund’s returns with returns from funds of a similar nature. This information would be shared with the Committee. The Real Estate tender was to close within December and any decisions would be made in the best interest of the Greater Gwent Pension Fund. It was hoped that a decision on the appointment would be finalised by Spring 2024. Holding Cash assets was not a long-term solution but was beneficial whilst exploring alternative investment opportunities, especially whilst interest rates were ahead of the long-term actuarial discount rate. 6.7 The Committee thanked officers and advisors for their hard work. 6.8 The Pensions Committee agreed: (i) Consider the contents of this report and approve the new Strategic Asset Allocation as set out in section 9; and (ii) That officers undertake the following necessary steps which included: notifying the Wales Pension Partnership, existing investment managers and other third-parties as necessary at the appropriate time, preparing a detailed implementation report setting out how the Fund might deliver on the interim allocation range with reference to the glide-path.
7.1 The HoP outlined the report and provided an update on the work undertaken by the Wales Pension Partnership (WPP) on behalf of the eight LGPS funds in Wales. 7.2 Link Fund Solutions had been acquired and were now operating as the Waystone Group. It was noted that there was a typing error within paragraph 5.3 of the report and the Global Credit figure should read £232m. 7.3 The Pensions Committee agreed: (i) To note the content of this report as well as the respective appendices.
8.1 The HoP outlined the report and provided an update on the Pension Fund’s investment performance for the period 1 July 2023 through to 30 September 2023 (Q3 2023). 8.2 The performance of the fund within this period had shown a slight improvement. Long-term performance had been positive and remained ahead of the benchmark. 8.3 The IA provided an update on current macroeconomic factors and confirmed the following: • There had been a significant increase in market conditions over the previous year and these had gone from being down 20-30% to now being up by 20-30%. • There had been evidence to suggest that inflation was in retreat and energy prices were felt to be under control. • Markets had faced minor disruption as a result of the conflict within the Middle East and the price of oil had remained steady. • The strength of Sterling was still negative but there was a sense that the UK market had started to improve. The consumer remained robust which had helped avoid the predicted recession. • Technology continued to dominate stock markets. • It was a challenge for sustainable infrastructure currently due to interest rates causing business plans to no longer be valid. 8.4 Following questions from the Committee, the IA and HoP made the following points: • The holding period of stocks tended to be a lot shorter now than previously which meant that investors tended to have assets ready in order to invest quickly. • Tech stocks were currently viewed as a safety trade but this would start to balance eventually due to the disparities in other areas were too substantial. • The Fund had minor physical exposure to Israel via its investments within the WPP and Low Carbon Passive funds. There would be a response written for all expressing concern with this exposure. This would be shared with the Committee once finalised. 8.5 The Pensions Committee agreed: · To note the investment performance that had taken place during quarter three of 2023.
9.1 The PM outlined the report and provided an update on the administration services provided by the Pension Section and to highlight a number of areas of current activity and development. 9.2 My Pension Online registration now equated to 30% of scheme members. There were newsletters to be sent to pensioners in December, this would be sent via email to all members signed up to My Pension Online. 9.3 There was a Pension Awareness week held in September for Torfaen County Borough Council employees. These employees were offered one to one session to discuss their pensions. The event was very well supported and 80 pre-bookable appointments had been made prior to the event being held. There would be another session arranged for Torfaen County Borough Council employees in the new year. All employers within the Fund had been sent newsletters regarding the Pension Awareness week and the intention was for multiple Pension Awareness sessions to be held next year with all employers who wished to engage. 9.4 The annual Cyber Security tabletop exercise would be taking place in December. This exercise would include a scenario using Pension software and was noted to be highly important to ensure all security measures were in place. 9.5 The Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment) (No.3) Regulations 2023 which implement the McCloud remedy took effect from the 1st of October 2023 and this would be backdated to 1st April 2014. The Pension admin system had been updated to take this into consideration. There would be rectifications undertaken for those already receiving their pensions. Communications would be sent out to all members by 31st of December to inform them of the McCloud remedy and what this entailed. 9.6 Following questions from the Committee, the PM made the following points: • There would be constant encouragement for members of the pension scheme to register for My Pensions Online and new members of the scheme were encouraged to enrol when joining. • There were a varied range of questions asked at the Pensions Awareness sessions. • The cost of My Pension Online was not based on the number of registrations but rather the amount of active, deferred and retired members were within the scheme. • It was estimated that a very low percentage of Fund members were affected by the McCloud remedy. 9.7 The Pensions Committee agreed: (i) To note the content of this report.
10.1 The HoP outlined the report and explained that there had been no updates to the Risk Register during this quarter but there would be a more detailed update provided in the March 2024 meeting. 10.2 The Pensions Committee agreed: (i) To note the updated Risk Register and comment as appropriate.
11.1 The PM outlined the report and provided an update on training already undertaken by members of the Pensions Committee. The new annual training programme would be provided in the new year. 11.2 Following questions from the Committee, the PM made the following points: • Any training arranged by the Pensions Team would be included on the log. 11.3 The Pensions Committee agreed: (i) To note the training update and comment where appropriate.
12.1 The next meeting is scheduled to take place on 18/03/24
13.1 13.2 The Committee agreed to the exclusion of the press and public from the meeting as presentations and meeting papers were not for publication because in accordance with paragraphs 12 and 14 of part 4 of Schedule 12a of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended by the Access to Information Variation Order Wales 2007), it contained information about a particular individual and information relating to the financial and business affairs of particular persons including the Council and in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemptions outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. The Chair invited the four members of the Pension Board to continue observing the meeting.
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
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