Agenda and minutes

1.1       The Committee RESOLVED to agree the minutes of the meeting held on 15 March 2016 as a correct record.

2.1       There were no apologies for absence.

Disclosures by all Members present of personal interests in matters on the agenda, the nature of any interest and whether the Members regard the interest as prejudicial under the terms of the Code of Conduct.

3.1       Cllr Stogdon declared a personal interest in items 7 & 8 as a trustee of funds operated by Ruffer.

Notification of items which the Chair considers to be urgent and proposes to take at the appropriate part of the agenda.

4.1       The Chair raised the issue of moving the start time of the Committee back to 10:00am for the 8 September 2016 meeting onwards.

4.2       The Committee RESOLVED to agree this proposal.

5.1     The Committee considered the draft minutes of the Pension Board meeting held on 12 May 2016.

5.2     The Committee RESOLVED to note the draft minutes.

·         ACCESS Update

6.1       The Committee considered a report by the Chief Operating Officer providing an update on the Government’s requirement for Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds to pool investments.

6.2       The Committee raised concerns about:

·         whether the ACCESS pooled fund managers would perform as well as the East Sussex Pension Fund (ESPF);

·         the complexity in holding poorly performing investment managers to account under the new system;

·         the delays in being able to pool the property portfolios of the separate pension funds ;

·         being responsible for the performance of the ESPF – as the Pension Committee – but not having sufficient influence over the appointment of fund managers.

6.3       The Committee RESOLVED to:

1)         note the report and its appendices; 

2)         authorise the Chief Operating Officer, in consultation with Chair of the Pension Committee, to submit the refined, detailed response of the East Sussex Pension Fund and ACCESS Pool to the Government by 15 July 2016; and

3)         communicate any significant changes to the submission to the rest of the Committee, Chair of the Pension Board, and independent advisor, prior to submission on 15 July 2016.

·         Q1 2016 monitoring report

·         Rebalancing Policy for East Sussex Pension Fund (to follow)

7.1       The Committee considered two presentations by Hymans Robertson on:

·         the performance of fund managers during the first quarter of 2016.

·         the Rebalancing Policy for East Sussex Pension Fund (ESPF).

7.3       The Committee RESOLVED to agree to the proposed rebalancing of the ESPF in accordance with the proposals presented by Hymans Robertson.

8.1       The Committee considered a presentation from the fund manager Ruffer on their fund performance.

9.1       The Committee considered a report by the Chief Operating Officer on the Reporting Breaches Policy.

9.2       The Committee RESOLVED to agree the Reporting Breaches Policy.

10.1     The Committee considered a report by the Chief Operating Officer providing an update on the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) discretions for the administering authority and employers.

10.2     The Committee RESOLVED to note the report.

11.1     The Committee considered a report by the Chief Operating Officer on the East Sussex Pension Fund’s draft 2015/16 Annual Report.

11.2     The Committee resolved to note the East Sussex Pension Fund’s draft 2015/16 Annual Report.

12.1     The Committee considered a report by the Chief Operating Officer on the Pension Fund external audit plan for 2015/16.

12.2     The Committee RESOLVED to approve the Pension Fund external audit plan for 2015/16.

·         Key member and employer communications

13a.1   The Committee considered a report by the Chief Operating Officer updating it on the work of Orbis Business Operations.

13a.2   The Committee resolved to:

1)    Note the report and its appendices;

2)    request that Orbis Business Operations maintains RAG ratings for its new KPIs; and

3)    request to be consulted on the proposed KPIs at a future date.

13b.1   The Committee considered a report by the Chief Operating Officer providing a general update on issues involving the East Sussex Pension Fund.

13b.2   The Committee RESOLVED to note the report.

14.1.    The Committee considered a report by the Chief Operating Officer setting out the Committee’s proposed Forward Plan for 2016/17.

14.2     The Committee RESOLVED to note the updated Pension Committee Forward Plan, Pension Board Forward Plan, Training Log, and the Joint Training date.