Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors C E D Mair and P Wood.

Mr A Antcliff requested that a note be made in the minutes that he was currently a contributing member of the Pension Fund as an employee of Lincolnshire County Council.

Mr J Grant declared a personal intereste in all items on the agenda as a member of the Witham Fourth District Internal Drainage Board.

Councillor R J Phillips declared a personal interest in all items on the agenda as a member of the Upper Witham Internal Drainage Board and as a contributing member of the Pension Fund.

In accordance with Section 100 (A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, agenda items 4a, 4b and 4c have not been circulated to the press and public on the grounds that they are considered to contain exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended. The press and public may be excluded from the meeting for the consideration of these items of business.

RESOLVED

That in accordance with section 100(A) (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that if they were present there could be a disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.

(To consider a report which introduces a presentation from Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, who manage the Fund's allocation to alternative investments)

The Committee received a presentation from Morgan Stanley Investment Management on the Fund's Diversified Alternatives portfolio.

A question was asked about the fees relating to the hedge fund element of the portfolio.  It was noted that hedge funds were a more expensive asset class to invest in, however they brought higher expected returns and added diversification, and the fees would be kept under review.

RESOLVED

That the report and presentation be noted.

(To consider a report which introduces a presentation from Morgan Stanley, who manage the Global Brands Fund, which forms part of the Fund's allocation to global equities)

The Committee received a presentation from Morgan Stanley Investment Management on the Fund's Global Brands portfolio.

The portfolio had excellent returns from consumer staples which included British American Tobacco and Reckitt Benckiser, both in the top five absolute return contributors over 3 years.

RESOLVED

That the report and presentation be noted.

(To consider a report which introduces a presentation from F&C, who manage the Fund's allocation to absolute return bonds)

Prior to welcoming F&C to receive their presentation, the Committee discussed the options available to it for the future of the Target Return Fund they managed, as the manager product was an expensive way of accessing return in a low yield environment.

RESOLVED

          That the report and presentation be noted.

(To consider a report which introduces an update from the Pension Fund Manager, on the latest developments on Asset Pooling)

Consideration was given to a report which introduced an update from the Pension Fund Manager on the latest developments on asset pooling.

The Chairman reported that all the committee chairs of the participating funds within the BCPP (Border to Coast Pension Partnership) had met as a group.  Out of this meeting, a memo of understanding had been written which provided for a group of Members to be formed (Members Steering Group) which would include the chairman and a substitute who would be one other member from each committee.  Councillor Allan suggested Vice Chairman, Councillor Phillips for this role.

There would be a separate Officer Advisory Group to take information back to the individual funds.

Although the pool took certain areas of work away from Officers, the Committee was assured that there was other work that would replace officers' time, and there would be no reduction in staffing numbers within the team.

The Government's deadline for Asset Pooling Submissions (15 July 2016) was fast approaching and Officers would keep the Committee updated throughout the process.

RESOLVED

That the report be noted.