Two Scottish pension funds propose merger
0Lothian Pension Fund (LPF) and Falkirk Council Pension Fund (FCPF), with joint assets of £11.3bn, are exploring the possibility of a merger in 2023.
The two organisations have worked together for over 10 years and have a combined total of 115,000 members and 98 active employers. They said the merger would proceed subject to approval by both the City of Edinburgh and Falkirk councils, in addition to regulatory consent in Scotland and the UK.
Amanda Templeman, chief finance officer of FCPF, said: “Falkirk Council Pension Fund and Lothian Pension Fund are exploring an innovative approach to local authority pension fund management which has the potential to improve the operation and resilience of the funds.”
The funds said the merger would be a positive development for members and employers, and would bring investment in new technology and more career opportunities.
David Vallery, chief executive officer of LPF said: “Both funds share the same principles and objectives: to provide excellent administration to members and to invest assets responsibly. These will remain the cornerstone goals if the merger was to proceed.”
If the funds pursue the merger, the operations and administration teams will be combined and work as a single body, but the investments of both funds will not be pooled. The new organisation would continue to operate from Edinburgh and Falkirk.
A spokesperson for LPF told Room151: “At the moment we can say that there will be no change to the fund’s investment principles nor responsible investment principles which are largely the same, following many years of successful collaboration between the two funds.”
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