Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Philip Woodhouse.

Henry Pollard declared an interest in INVESCO in relation to the discussion over Item Nine – Investment of Surplus Cash.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 5 June 2013.

RESOLVED: That the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on Wednesday 5 June 2013 be agreed as an accurate record.

There were no questions.

Pension Reform

At the request of the Chairman the Chamberlain briefed the Board on emerging proposals for the reform of local authority pensions. He noted that the Minister had recently written an article querying whether or not too many local authority pension schemes existed, with too much associated administration. The Chamberlain explained that he had done some work for London Councils on developing an approach which concentrated around the concept of a Collective Investment Vehicle (CIV). He told the Board that there was time for the Corporation to make a formal response to the government consultation, but that he would welcome a decision from the Board at the meeting on whether or not they were content in principle with the CIV.  If so, the Chamberlain explained that each local authority would commit up to £25,000 to the design scheme, although he observed that as some London local authorities had already signed up, the figure should be less to the scheme. He said that he was happy with the idea in principle and with the requirement to commit the monies. He concluded by informing the Board it may be likely that either the Corporation or Wandsworth may be requested to act as the lead authority in establishing the CIV.

The Board proceeded to discuss the proposal:

·         A member queried the capacity of other London local authorities to participate in the scheme and the administrative burden of a London-wide scheme. He expressed the concern that in the event of the Corporation acting as lead authority, it would quickly become tied down and lose its freedom of action.

·         A member said that he was pleased that central government was against a pooled Local Government Pension Scheme as this meant a lack of control.

·         A member concurred, welcoming the greater control offered by a

MOTION - That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

RESOLVED - That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

To agree the non-public minutes and of the meeting held on 5 June 2013.

RESOLVED: That the non-public minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 5 June be agreed as an accurate record.

A report of the Chamberlain (copy attached).

The Corporate Treasurer introduced the Update on Current Issues and provided summaries on some of the issues arising on the agenda.

RECEIVED

A report of Aon Hewitt (copy attached).

The Chamberlain introduced the report of Aon Hewitt on the investment of surplus cash.

A report on Aon Hewitt (copy attached).

The Corporate Treasurer introduced the report on Infrastructure Manager Selection.

A report of Aon Hewitt (copy attached).

The Corporate Treasurer introduced the report of Aon Hewitt on Standard Life Capital Partners.

A Summary of the Standard Life Capital Partners’ ‘Secondary Opportunities Fund’ (copy attached).

The Board considered the overview report on Standard Life Capital Partners’ ‘Secondary Opportunities Fund’.

RECEIVED

A report of Aon Hewitt (copy attached).

The Chairman introduced the report on protecting against equity market falls, noting that it had been submitted to the Board in response to its discussions at the meeting on 5 June.

A report of Aon Hewitt (attached).

The Board considered the report of Aon Hewitt introducing real yield risk within the context of the pension fund. It was agreed that further consideration should be given to protecting the City against interest rate and inflation risk and a further review of the strategic asset allocation of the pension fund be undertaken following consideration of the results of the March 2013 actuarial review towards the end of the year.

RECEIVED

There were no non-public questions.

There was no other business.