This meeting of the Pension Committee was scheduled to include presentations about the performance of some of the Pension Fund's investments, and updates from officers on the management of the Pension Fund. There was also a scheduled presentation about the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) more generally.

The most significant items on the agenda for the meeting were:

Investment Performance

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the investment performance of the Waltham Forest Pension Fund.

As of 30 September 2024, the Pension Fund investments were valued at £1,100.5m.

The strategic performance target of the fund to recover its deficit is 5.35%, set in the Funding Strategy agreed following the 2022 triennial valuation. As of 30 September 2024, the fund's 3-year return was 0.6% pa.

The report identified four funds whose performance was due to be discussed:

• The London CIV Global Equity Focus Fund, managed by external fund managers J.P. Morgan Asset Management, had returned 15.8% over the previous 12 months, compared to a benchmark of 20.4%.
• The London CIV Emerging Market Equity Fund, also managed by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, had returned 8.1% over the previous 12 months, compared to a benchmark of 14.7%.
• The Darwin Leisure Property Fund, had a valuation of -26.1% in the quarter to 30 September 2024. This followed a reported fall in the fund's Net Asset Value of 23.5% on 30 September 2024. The fund managers attributed this fall to a number of factors that had affected the UK holiday park sector. The most significant factors they identified were:
  • The Covid-19 Pandemic
  • High levels of inflation
  • The cost-of-living crisis.
• The UBS Triton Property Fund had returned 1.3% over the previous 12 months compared to a benchmark of 2.9%.

The meeting was also scheduled to include presentations from officers of the Council, and representatives of London CIV and UBS about investment performance.

Divestment from Arms Trade

The Committee was scheduled to receive an update on the work being carried out by Council officers to assess the implications of divesting the Pension Fund from companies involved in the arms trade.

The meeting on 27 November was scheduled to be a continuation of a discussion that began at a special meeting of the committee on 22 July 2024.

The report for the meeting describes the background to the work:

officers were now reviewing the legal definition to allow the fund to divest from companies involved in the arms trade

The report also describes some of the work that officers had been doing to prepare for this meeting, including:

• Speaking to fund managers at Newton Investment Management, Nordea Asset Management and London CIV about their approach to defining involvement in the arms trade
• Seeking legal advice from the King's Counsel about the definition of companies involved in the arms trade.

Training Report

The Committee was scheduled to receive an update on the training that had been undertaken by members of the Pension Committee, the Pension Board¹, and Council officers.

The report explained the purpose of the training:

agreed to undertake the training requirements as listed for the pension Committee in the approved Training Policy

The report also set out the training that the Committee Members had been scheduled to undertake during 2024 and 2025, as agreed at the meeting on 17 September 2024.

Risk Management Report

The Committee was scheduled to receive the draft risk register for the Pension Fund, and to approve the scoring matrix to be used to assess the risks.

The report identifies 36 risks to the fund grouped into seven risk areas. The areas identified were:

• Asset and Investment Risk
• Liability Risk
• Employer Risk
• Resources and Skills Risk
• Administration and Communicative Risk
• Reputational Risk
• Regulatory and Compliance Risk

Pension Administration Services update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the performance of the Pension Shared Service Partnership (PSS)² in administering the Pension Fund.

The report identifies a number of areas in which the PSS had performed well, and sets out some of the other work that the PSS had carried out during the second quarter of the 2024/2025 financial year.

The report also includes details of the data quality of the Waltham Forest Pension Fund, as at 30 September 2024:

the percentage of member records that did not fail any of the tests in the core list of TPR tests is 95.9%

the overall percentage of tests passed for Waltham Forest Pension Fund’s scheme-specific data is 89.2%

Pension Fund Annual Report

The committee was scheduled to receive the draft annual report of the Waltham Forest Pension Fund for the 2023/2024 financial year.

The draft report includes:

• The audited accounts of the Pension Fund (AR Appendix 1 Pension Fund Accounts 2023-24 DRAFT).
• The Pension Fund's Investment Strategy Statement (AR Appendix 2 Investment Strategy Statement 2023-24)
• The Pension Fund's Funding Strategy Statement (AR Appendix 3 - London Borough of Waltham Forest Pension Fund - 31 March 2022 FSS - Final)
• The Pension Fund's Risk Register (AR Appendix 6 - LBWFPF - Draft Risk Register November 24)
• The Pension Fund's Administration Strategy (AR Appendix 7 - Pensions Administration Strategy 2023-24)