Midlands LGPS funds announce investment pool
0Eight Local Government Pension Scheme funds in the Midlands have announced their intention to team up to create a £35bn pension pool.
The proposals would bring together Cheshire Pension Fund, Derbyshire County Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Shropshire county Pension Fund, Staffordshire Pension Fund, West Midlands ITA, West Midlands Pension Fund and Worcestershire County Council.
The announcement comes less than two weeks after Room151.co.uk revealed that funds in Greater Manchester West Yorkshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester funds are in discussions to create a £40bn pool.
A statement issued by the West Midlands Pension Fund said: “This will initially see the creation of a multi asset investment pool of £35 billion in size, meeting the scale sought by the government in its investment pooling criteria for the Local Government Pension Scheme.
“The collaboration will aim to deliver cost savings and to build on the individual participating Funds’ strong investment performances by providing scale, increased resilience, knowledge sharing and robust governance and decision making arrangements.”
It is understood that the new investment pool will offer access to both internal and external investment management.
Individual funds will continue to retain their separate identities and local accountability, the statement said, with each fund having equal voting rights.
Plans for geographically based pools in Wales, London and the South West have already emerged, while funds from East Riding, Surrey and Cumbria are also in negotiations. Remaining funds may coalesce around a nascent grouping of East Anglian and South East funds.
Originally, chancellor George Osborne said he would like to see six funds of around £25bn each, but it is understood the Treasury is prepared to be flexible on these numbers.
