Agenda item

The Chair welcomed Denise Jones – Head of Change Management of Link Fund Solutions to provide a presentation on Key Milestones and progress in respect of the Wales Pension Partnership.

Ms Jones provided the Joint Committee with a list of the provisional dates for the key milestones, progress to-date on Initial Funds (Global Equity) Tranche 2 (UK and European Equities) and the next steps.

Ms Jones advised that Link were currently working through the reporting templates with a sample pack having been  considered by the Officers Working Group in July,  it was therefore hoped that agreement on the pack would be received shortly in readiness for the first fund launch.

Ms Jones also informed the Joint Committee that Investment Manager Agreements were underway and it was hoped that all agreements would be signed by the end of September 2018.

In terms of the Global Equity Sub-fund,  Link were still targeting mid November 2018 for the launch of the first two funds and it was hoped that agreement would be made within Agenda item 6 for the Tranche 2 funds  - UK and European Equities, with approval of the schedule 5 additions to the Fund prospectus by 5th October.

In terms of Transition Manager Appointments for the first two funds (Global Equities), all bids had been received and an initial evaluation had been undertaken, reviewed with officers and final approval was expected within the next week.

In terms of progress to-date, the Joint Committee was advised that:-

·         FCA approval was received for the initial funds on the 24^th July;

·         An Initial Manager engagement day was held on the 5^th September with the 3 Global Growth and 3 Global Opportunities Manager in attendance,  an additional 4 managers would meet with the Joint Committee later that morning

·         Contract negotiations had commenced with Northern Trust for the depositary agreement, as per the report, with the execution copy due for completion later in the week

·         Link had reviewed the Administration  agreement and fed initial comments back to Northern Trust

·         Letters of engagement were now in place for Audit, Legal and Tax advisors.

In terms of Tranche 2 Link had considered UK and European equities, and the fund proposals had been agreed with the investing local authorities of Cardiff and Torfaen, with the schedule 5 additions completed and issued for initial review by the Officers and then approved for submission to the FCA with a view to launch in mid January 2019. It was hoped that Transition Mangers would be appointed by the 11^th October 2018. Work had also commenced on fixed income proposals which would hopefully be agreed in November 2018 so that work could commence on the third FCA submission.

Reference was made to the key milestones and dates detailed within the report, and clarification was sought regarding the appointment process for the Transition Manager. The Joint Committee S151 Officer advised that the Transitional Manager would require appointment by each individual authority, and each Authority’s appointments process would apply.

In response to a question, Ms Jones advised that the appointment of Global Growth and Global Opportunities Managers would be subject to performance on the first tranche, and it was not therefore guaranteed that the same managers would be appointed to the different funds.

Mr Anthony Parnell provided the Committee with the following update on the host authority’s responsibilities:-

·         Staffing – following a resource issue, the Host Authority was currently undertaking a recruitment process in respect of the Wales Pension Partnership Officer and it was hoped that an appointment would be made in the next few months.

·         In terms of communications, the first reporting pack had now been produced and discussions were ongoing with another Pension Partnership to ascertain if a consistent approach for reporting could be agreed. The Partnership was also required to  provide a progress report to the MHCLG (Ministry of Housing,
Communities & Local Government) every season, the Autumn report would shortly be drafted in consultation with Hymans Robertson, and  following consultation with the Officer Working Group, the progress report would be circulated for  signing off via email by the JGC.

·         Governance – Officer Working Groups continued to meet on a regular basis, prospectuses had been approved and the Joint Committee arrangements were working well and compared favourably with other similar pension pools.  Work on the development of the website was ongoing. Reporting arrangements continued to be developed in line with CIPFA recommendations  and Government expectations.

The Chair congratulated the Partnership on its recent success in being highly commended in the Pool of the Year category at the LAPF Investment Awards 2018 held at the Savoy Hotel, London on Thursday 20^th September 2018.

The Committee’s Section 151 Officer advised that a request had been received from the Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government to meet with the Chair of the Committee and officers to discuss the Joint Committee’s infrastructure potential proposals, and this meeting would take place shortly.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the presentation from Link and the host Authority on milestones and progress update be received.