Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence or substitutions for the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Stuart Wheeler, Cllr Rob Yuill and Cllr Gavin Grant.

Cllr Gavin Grant had arranged for Cllr Carole King to attend in his absence.

The Chairman noted that following the Annual meeting of Full Council on 21 May 2024, the following Committee Memberships had taken place:

·       Cllr George Jeans was replaced by Cllr Gavin Grant.

·       Cllr Christopher Newbury was replaced by Cllr Robert Yuill but would remain as a substitute.

·       Jodie Smart was formally ratified as a Non-educational Employer Body Representative.

The Chairman placed on record his gratitude for the work of Cllrs Newbury and Jeans towards the Committee over many years.

To approve and sign as a true and correct record the Part I (public) minutes of the previous meeting held on 28 March 2024.

The minutes of the meeting held on 28 March 2024 were presented for consideration, and it was,

Resolved:

To approve and sign the minutes as a true and correct record.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of disclosable interests.

To receive any announcements through the Chairman.

Jennifer Devine, Head of Wiltshire Fund, reminded Members that an email had been sent regarding an invitation to a solar farm visit and that those interested should confirm their attendance by the end of the day.

To review progress on any actions requested by the Committee in previous meetings.

The Committee reviewed the actions which had arisen from previous meetings.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

Statements

If you would like to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this agenda, please register to do so at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting. Up to 3 speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes each on any agenda item. Please contact the officer named on the front of the agenda for any further clarification.

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public or members of the Council received in accordance with the constitution.

Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named on the front of this agenda no later than 5pm on Thursday 13 June 2024, in order to be guaranteed of a written response. In order to receive a verbal response, questions must be submitted no later than 5pm on Monday 17 June 2024. Please contact the officer named on the front of this agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Committee members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

No statements or questions were submitted.

The Investment and Accounting Team Lead to present a report on the Fund quarterly responsible investment performance.

Chris Moore, Investment and Accounting Team Lead presented a report on the Fund quarterly responsible investment performance. The presentation covered the following points including but not limited to the progress against the actions in the Responsible Investment Plan 2023/24 with a significant amount of progress made, with only one piece of outstanding work, which was the implementation of the Clops portfolio.

It was outlined that a significant number of reports had been produced in 23/24 Q4, including the Affordable Housing Impact Report and Responsible Investment and Stewardship report and Spotlight on Social report, with summaries included and it noted that the best place to view these reports was on the Wiltshire Pension Fund website.

The fund had many achievements across the year including that the COP28 campaign including an informative factsheet was read by circa 13,000 people, the fund had received several awards relating to responsible investment and had also been invited to speak at multiple conferences.

A progress update on the implementation of the Clops portfolio was provided, with it noted that regarding the local infrastructure asset class, out of the £100m allocated to Wessex Gardens, £70m had already been drawn into a solar portfolio and that regarding listed equities, a manager had been selected pending subscription. Regarding listed/private debt, the Fund had appointed NinetyOne as the investment manager. Additionally, £10m had been allocated to World Fund who will invest in start-up companies who have the potential to deliver material carbon reduction. Detail was also provided regarding the nature-based allocation and that a selection process would start once the investment advisor procurement process was completed.

Reference was made to the delivery of the Younger Members Focus Group, which had been set up as part of the RI plan to engage younger members following the youth pensions survey undertaken previously, however low levels of interest had been received, therefore consideration was taking place regarding how the fund could engage with younger members in another way.

The Committee discussed the presentation, with reference made to whether the Fund had considered communication from the perspective of the younger members, to which it was noted that the Focus Group had the aim of engaging with members and that the approach taken by the Fund needed to reflect what younger members needed or wanted.

Further clarity was provided regarding the progress on the implementation of the Clops investments and why they have taken slightly longer. The main reason being the team having less capacity due to vacancies meaning fund selection could not take place concurrently. Officers outlined that since summer last year, the team had been actively trying to recruit to fill a senior role and had advertised in many ways using market supplements. Since then, the team had found an Investment Analyst with a good background of experience, who was set to join the Fund on 4 July. It was also covered that resilience work had been done with the accounting team to improve career progression as well as setting up an apprenticeship  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

To determine the date of the next Committee meeting dates:

·         Administration focused meeting 11th July 2024

·         Investment focused meeting 19th September 2024

The dates of the next meetings were confirmed as:

·       Administration focused meeting 11 July 2024

·       Investment focused meeting 19 September 2024

Any other items of business which, in the opinion of the Chairman, should be considered as a matter of urgency. Urgent items of a confidential nature may be considered under Part II of this agenda.

There were no urgent items.

To consider passing the following resolution:

To agree that in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the public from the meeting for the business specified in Item Numbers 11 – 16  because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 & 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information to the public.

It was,

Resolved:

To agree that in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the public from the meeting for the business specified in Minute Numbers 11 - 16 because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 & 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information to the public.

To approve and sign as a true and correct record the Part II (private) minutes of the previous meeting held on 28 March 2024.

The private minutes of the meeting held on 28 March 2024 were presented for consideration, and it was,

Resolved:

To approve and sign the minutes as a true and correct record.

The Investment and Accounting officer to present a report on the Fund quarterly investment performance.

Chris Moore, Investment and Accounting officer to present a report on the Fund quarterly investment performance.

At the conclusion of debate, it was,

Resolved:

The Committee agreed to use the investment reports and the update provided by officers and advisers at the meeting as a basis for monitoring the investment performance and implementation of the strategic asset allocation.

The Head of Wiltshire Fund to present the draft Climate and Nature Report 2024.

Jennifer Devine, Head of Wiltshire Fund to present the draft Climate and Nature Report 2024.

At the conclusion of debate, it was,

Resolved:

The Committee agreed to approve the Climate and Nature Report 2024 for publication.

A verbal update on the report from officers summarising the ongoing Brunel governance arrangements.

Jennifer Devine, Head of Wiltshire Fund provided a verbal update summarising the ongoing Brunel governance arrangements.

A verbal update on the tender process to appoint an independent investment advisor and Investment Consultant.

Jennifer Devine, Head of Wiltshire Fund provided members with a verbal update on the tender process to appoint an independent investment advisor and Investment Consultant.

Chairman called the meeting to a break at 11.33am and then resumed the meeting at 11:45am.

Brunel Private Markets team to provide an update on performance of the Private Markets Investments. (Private Equity, Private Debt, Property, Infrastructure).

The Brunel Private Markets team provided an update on performance of the Private Markets Investments. (Private Equity, Private Debt, Property, Infrastructure).