Issue - meetings

27.1     The Committee considered a report introduced by Sian Kunert and Andrew Singh who drew the Committees attention to the following points:

1)    Lots of work has been undertaken on the efficacy of divestment and engagement and associated financial and legal considerations and a detailed report has been produced as requested.

2)    The Carbon footprint report will come to the next meeting as a new service provider has been sourced. The report will look different to previous provider and there will be data continuity issues as data has been brought in line with anticipated national LGPS guidance.  It was noted that data will evolve each year.

3)    Officers noted that there has been negative press around the climate scenario modelling. This will have to be done however officers do not want to commission a report which does not meet the needs of the Committee or support the strategy and would like to get a better sense of how to approach this and make best use of the data. Work is being undertaken by the LGA and scheme advisory board who will publish a response to the government consultation.

4)    The Stewardship report is submitted annually and takes time to compile so can feel out of date once published. The Impact Assessment is one of the criteria of good stewardship and feeds into that.

Performance report:

5)    The Committee received an overview of the quarter which is considered to have been largely positive. Opinion is that inflation has peaked and is reducing and should stabilise in time. The market is trying to predict interest rates, when this is more widely understood things will settle. Unemployment data was slightly weaker and wage inflation was also a factor.

6)    The Committee considered the performance of the different fund managers and noted there were various contributing factors. Performance is similar to the last quarter. Newton and Ruffer had a weak quarter as they are both positioned for a more muted market. WHEB and Wellington do not hold tech stocks which performed well this quarter. Both WHEB and Wellington are approaching the 3 year point with the Fund.

7)    The Wellington investment has recently been rated amber which is to monitor. The advisers do not suggest any action to be taken, but they will monitor the strategy for the next 12 months. The lead portfolio manager has stepped back  to manage another mandate, there has been an experienced member of the portfolio team promoted to lead portfolio manager with ultimate control on decision making, it is not anticipated that the portfolio will change with the new manager but it’s prudent to monitor the situation. , The Committee will consider an update at the next meeting. There is scheduled training due to take place in the coming month which will provide an opportunity for dialogue with them.

8)    Ruffer have underperformed in the last quarter however the Committee noted its positive long-term performance. There have been some personnel changes at the company. Positioned for a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27