Agenda and minutes

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

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Kevin Small and Cllr Christopher Newbury.

To approve and sign as a true and correct record the Part I (public) minutes of the previous meeting held on 14 December 2023.

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 December 2023 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.

There were no Chairman’s Announcements.

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

The Committee reviewed the list of ongoing actions.

To consider the Part I (public) minutes, and recommendations arising, from the last meeting of the Local Pension Board held on 13 February 2024 respectively.

Please note that this report will follow as a supplement.

The Committee reviewed the minutes of the Local Pension Board meeting held on 13 February 2024, and it was,

Resolved:

To note the minutes of the Local Pension Board meeting on 13 February 2024.

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 22 February 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 26 February 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, including the RI Plan for 24/25 and the results of the most recent survey of the membership on investment matters.

Jennifer Devine, Head of Wiltshire Pension Fund, presented a report on the Fund quarterly responsible investment performance, including the RI Plan for 24/25 and the results of the most recent survey of the membership on investment matters.

The update included that on page 18 of the report was a road map, in which all actions had been completed or would be completed by the end of March, with credit given to the team for their work whilst carrying a vacancy. The only action which would not be done in Q1, would be the completion of the implementation of the CLOPs portfolio, but this would be done within the first quarter of the next financial year.

It was outlined that the report covered that Brunel had prepared a paper on introducing activity-based exclusions, which the Fund wanted to support Brunel in carrying out.

Reference was made to a Responsible Investment Survey, which had been carried out by the Fund in January 2024, with the results included within Appendix 1. Detail was provided that the last survey had been conducted in March 2021, and that the 2024 survey had received 2,914 total responses, an increase of 30% compared to 2021. Analysis was provided of the demographic who responded, with those aged 60-69 providing the majority of responses. An overview of the questions asked was provided as well as the responses which were received.

Attention was drawn to the new holdings tool on the website, launching soon, which listed all the companies that the Fund was invested in.

The Committee discussed the update with clarity provided by officers on the definition of a “controversial weapon”. An update was provided on the vacancy, with it stated that the Fund had attempted to hire 4-5 times with adverts placed at a junior and senior level, however no suitable applicants had been found, even after raising the offered salary. It was stated that the Fund was going to seek advice on HR on filling the vacancy.

Assurance was provided that there was not expected to be any pinch points within the investment plan with the Fund coping well and the designed plan in Appendix 2 based on what the Fund should be able to deliver.

It was questioned what the Fund would change following the survey findings, to which officers stated that communication would be a focus, with a need to make information more available. It was noted that the survey demonstrated an interest in social issues, therefore case studies on these would be published as a report. A summer workshop for young people was also being prepared to encourage that demographic to engage. It was suggested that the optimum frequency of conducting such surveys would be every three years.

A suggestion was made that the Fund could contact the local press to spread news of the positive work of the fund with the example cited of a site visit to the recently purchased solar farms.

The details of the activity-based exclusions were discussed, in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The next ordinary meeting of the Committee will be held on 28 March 2024.

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 28 March 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 12 – 19  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 12 - 19 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 14 December 2024.

The private minutes of the meeting held on 14 December 2023 were presented for consideration, and it was,

Resolved:

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

To consider the Part II (private) minutes, and recommendations arising, from the last meeting of the Local Pension Board held on 13 February 2024 respectively.

Please note that this report will follow as a supplement.

The private minutes of the Local Pension Board meeting held on 13 February 2024 were presented for consideration, and it was,

Resolved:

To note 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 Team Lead, presented 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.

·       Approve the proposed commitments to the Brunel Private Equity and Private Debt Cycle 4 portfolios. £80m to Private Equity and £160m to Private Debt.

To discuss the proposed Brunel budget for 2024/25 and inform the shareholder response.

Jennifer Devine, Head of Wiltshire Pension Fund and Andy Brown, Brunel Shareholder Representative presented a report on the proposed Brunel budget for 2024/25 and informed the shareholder response.

At the conclusion of debate, it was,

Resolved:

The Committee agreed to:

·       Approve that a new approach to the budget is requested via the shareholder forum, as set out in this report.

To discuss the Fund’s shareholder representative to Brunel Pension Partnership.

Andy Brown, Brunel Shareholder Representative for Wiltshire Pension Fund, provided a verbal update on the Fund’s shareholder representative to Brunel Pension Partnership.

At the conclusion of debate, it was,

Resolved:

The Committee agreed to:

·       Provide their formal support and endorse this new arrangement as a way forward.

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

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

An update on progress being made in the transition of the Pensioner Payroll.

James Franklin, Pension Administration Lead and Mark Briggs, Operations Manager provided an update on progress being made in the transition of the Pensioner Payroll.

At the conclusion of debate, it was,

Resolved:

The Committee agreed to:

·       Note this update and is invited to make any comments or recommendations that it has in relation to this piece of work.

Chairman called the meeting to a break at 11:55am and resumed the meeting at 12.05pm.

Affordable housing manager, MAN Group, to present on the portfolio performance and return.

Shamez Alibhai and Charles Elson, MAN Group, presented on the portfolio performance and return.