The Pension Fund Committee of Westminster Council was scheduled to meet on 17 July 2025 to discuss a number of items. The most significant item for discussion was the proposed disinvestment from the LCIV Global Alpha Growth Fund – Paris Aligned, as well as passive equity options for reinvestment. The committee was also scheduled to discuss membership and declarations of interest.

LCIV Global Alpha Growth Fund – Paris Aligned: Proposed Disinvestment and Passive Equity Options

The committee was scheduled to discuss the LCIV Global Alpha Growth Fund – Paris Aligned, managed by Baillie Gifford, and consider investment and ESG research views. The report pack noted that as of 31 May 2025, the City of Westminster Pension Fund held £398 million in the fund.

The committee was asked to uphold its prior decision to divest from Baillie Gifford, which it made at a meeting on 26 June 2025, due to prolonged underperformance and a desire to reduce growth-style bias . The report pack also stated that the committee previously agreed that the funds should be reinvested in a passive global equity mandate, preferably with LGIM or BlackRock, aligning with London CIV pooling requirements and the Fit for the Future Consultation.

The report pack included estimated costs attributed to disinvesting from the LCIV Global Alpha Growth Fund – Paris Aligned:

• Spread cost to disinvest from Baillie Gifford: (8bps[^1] of assets invested, circa £320k at current prices).
• The range of the spread cost to invest into a passive global equity extends from nil to 10bps of assets invested, therefore up to circa £400k).

• Consultant's advisory costs

  [^1]: Basis point, a unit of measure used in finance to describe the percentage change in the value or rate of a financial instrument. One basis point is equivalent to 0.01% (1/100th of a percent).

The report pack stated that at 31 May 2025, the cash balance at the global custodian bank account was £49.6m, and that this cash is currently being utilised to pay pensioner benefits and to fund illiquid investments.

The report pack stated that ISIO believed that each of the LGIM and BlackRock alternatives represent a feasible option to replace the Baillie Gifford mandate prior to the London CIV taking responsibility for the management of the Fund's assets. It further stated that:

Considering the Fund's Investment Beliefs policy, the manager offering responsible investment tilts and screens may be more suited to the Committee's requirements.

The report pack also noted that the BlackRock RBKC ex-Grenfell stocks mandate represents a credible option to the Committee, with its key aim being to track the wider global market capitalisation index, excluding companies connected with the Grenfell tragedy¹.