After months of discussions and due diligence, 20 of the 21 Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds affected by government pooling interventions have found new homes.
The funds were members of the ACCESS and Brunel LGPS pools, which were ordered to shut down by the government in April. They were given until 30 September to select a new pool.
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, LGPS Central, and Local Pensions Partnership Investments (LPPI) have all gained multiple new partner funds – subject to formal agreements – while London CIV has also gained a new partner after the Buckinghamshire Pension Fund chose to join the capital’s pension asset pool.
Only the Environment Agency Pension Fund has yet to publicly declare its new pooling partner. The pension fund told Pensions Expert’s sister publication LAPF Investments that its decision would be communicated “in due course”.
Cornwall and Buckinghamshire declare their hands
This week, the £2.5bn Cornwall Pension Fund announced its intention to join LPPI, becoming the fifth fund to do so.
In a statement, Cornwall Pension Fund said: “We will be working closely with our Brunel partner funds to develop a plan to transition to the new pooling arrangements, ensuring that we secure the best possible outcome for our members.”
Cornwall is the fifth Brunel fund to opt to join LPPI, along with Devon, Dorset, Somerset, and Avon.
Separately, the £4.3bn Buckinghamshire Pension Fund has selected London CIV as its pooling partner. London CIV currently runs money for the 32 LGPS funds attached to London boroughs, and Buckinghamshire is the first fund from outside the M25 to join.
Buckinghamshire Council’s cabinet member for resources and chair of the pension fund committee
Robert Carington, chair of the Buckinghamshire Council pension fund committee, said: “We are grateful that this ringing endorsement bodes well for the future partnership.
“We have a strong history of supporting the pooling agenda, being effectively 100% pooled, and look forward to building a strong and collaborative relationship with London CIV and its partner funds, working together to deliver the objectives of the ‘Fit for the Future’ programme and protect and grow the pensions of the fund’s members.”
The next stage as LGPS gets ‘fit for the future’
The funds’ decisions must now be ratified by their new pooling partners, with contracts due to be signed by 31 March 2026.
The funds and pools will also begin the substantial work involved in moving investments from their old pools to sub-funds in their new pools. It is unclear currently how this will be managed.
Pensions Expert reported last week that LPPI has held early-stage discussions about taking on the regulated asset management business of Brunel, which includes nine sub-funds invested in listed equity and bond markets, and passive equity and bond strategies run by Legal & General Asset Management and BlackRock.
Brunel also runs private markets strategies across property, infrastructure, private equity, and private debt, as well as a dedicated impact portfolio for the Cornwall Pension Fund.
ACCESS had 30 investment sub-funds with almost £30bn in combined assets at the end of June 2024, according to the most recent available data on the pool’s website. A further £12bn in passive mandates was managed by UBS on behalf of the ACCESS pools.
Additional reporting by Thomas Parker.
