Agenda item

(a)  The Committee considered and noted the update for delegated responsibilities.

(b)  The Committee approved the updated cash management wording for inclusion in the Investment Strategy Statement as outlined in paragraph 1.01.

(c)  The Committee approved becoming an affiliate member of Pensions for Purpose as outlined in paragraph 1.05 and adopted the Impact Institute objectives as outlined in paragraph 1.06.

Mrs Fielder emphasised the strong position that the Fund was currently in and noted the following key points:

• The ongoing work surrounding Responsible Investment (“RI”) had taken a significant amount of time from Mrs Fielder on top of her usual duties.
• Following on from the presentation provided to the Committee in November, it is intended that the team will report to Committee in June with a road map outlining the Fund’s intentions in tackling climate risk.
• Mrs Fielder recommended that the Fund become an affiliate member of Pensions for Purpose, which was a collaborative initiative of impact managers, pension funds, social enterprises and others involved or interested in impact investment. In addition to the work the Fund is developing to tackle climate risk, this would aid the Fund’s intention to investing, where possible, in line with the sustainable development goals.  The Good Economy is a social advisory firm, specialising in impact measurement and management and Mrs Fielder also been involved in some of their working groups.
• Mrs Fielder has also been involved in several meetings with members of the Welsh Government Energy Services and has involved external managers of the Fund who may be able to give guidance and assistance on some of the individual projects.
• The Scheme Advisory Board (“SAB”) has created a new responsible investment advisor group consisting of a selection of Fund Managers, Consultants and representatives from Pools and key LGPS administering authority groups. Mrs Fielder was appointed as the representative for the Wales LGPS funds. Mr Buckland has also been appointed on behalf of Mercer.
• The Fund has been involved with the Impact Institute which was launched in 2019 with a mission to accelerate the growth and improve the effectiveness of the impact investing market in the UK and internationally. They have developed four guiding principles for pension schemes and it is recommended that the Fund adopt these principles as they are aligned to the Fund’s RI Policy.
• In relation to Delegated Responsibilities, the Fund remains cash flow positive. Mercer and the Fund have worked together and £15 million was committed to a Private Equity manager, Livingbridge.

Mr Latham added that he had been invited to a meeting with Wrexham County Borough Council regarding a resolution on divesting from fossil fuels and investing in local investments. Cllr Williams was aware of this.

In regards to the Welsh Government Energy Services, Mr Everett asked what the Fund could expect in terms of timeframes. Mrs Fielder commented that she was uncertain at this stage. She noted that the Fund is not equipped nor has the expertise to analyse these individual projects themselves given that work is usually completed through an investment manager.  Mrs Fielder commented that some of the Fund’s existing managers could facilitate this but the Fund would also need to work with the WPP in this regard.

            Cllr Bateman queried whether there was any mention of nuclear power on Anglesey in the discussions. Mrs Fielder responded that she cannot discuss any details of individual projects.   

The Chairman noted the excellent involvement of the Fund at a national level on the various RI initiatives, which is clearly going to benefit the Fund being at the forefront of the latest thinking.

RESOLVED:

(a)  The Committee considered and noted the update for delegated responsibilities.

(b)  The Committee approved the updated cash management wording for inclusion in the Investment Strategy Statement as outlined in paragraph 1.01.

(c)  The Committee approved becoming an affiliate member of Pensions for Purpose as outlined in paragraph 1.05 and adopted the Impact Institute objectives as outlined in paragraph 1.06.