The Camden Council Pension Committee met to discuss the fund's investment strategy, performance, and policies, with a particular focus on responsible investment and risk management. A key item on the agenda was the review of the Investment Strategy Statement, alongside updates on the London Collective Investment Vehicle and the fund's engagement activities. The committee also considered several policy documents related to funding, admissions, contributions, and cessation of employers within the pension fund.

Responsible Investment Policy

The committee was scheduled to discuss a draft Responsible Investment (RI) Policy for the Camden Pension Fund. The report on the Draft Responsible Investment Policy noted that the UK Government had published its response to the Fit for the Future consultation, confirming its plans to reform the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) ¹. The report stated that these reforms carry significant implications for administering authorities and the LGPS asset pools. The council was scheduled to discuss the steps taken to reach this stage, including:

• A market engagement exercise with specialist ESG[^3] and geopolitical consultants [^3]: ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance, and is a way of measuring the sustainability and societal impact of an investment.
• The decision to utilise the RepRisk AI platform for portfolio screening
• Subsequent work with Isio, the Fund's investment consultant, to translate the analytical findings into a practical policy framework.

The report included sample analysis outputs generated from the RepRisk platform, and set out the draft RI Policy.

The committee was asked to:

1. Review and note the ongoing use of RepRisk ESG incident-monitoring platform
2. Review and comment on the Draft Responsible Investment Policy, noting that it is subject to final legal clearance
3. Note that the final Responsible Investment Policy will be brought back to Committee in March 2026 for formal approval.

The report stated that at its meeting in March 2025, the committee agreed to strengthen the Fund's approach to Responsible Investment (RI) through a series of actions, including commissioning an independent review of the Fund's holdings for potential exposure to companies linked with conflict-affected and high-risk areas and developing an explicit Conflict Zone Exposure Policy within Camden's ESG framework.

The Terms of Reference (ToR) required providers to:

• Review the Fund's holdings for exposure to defence or other companies deriving revenues from activities in conflict-affected regions, including the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
• Align analysis to recognised international frameworks (UN OHCHR[^4] conflict-affected and high-risk areas List, UN Global Compact, OECD Guidelines). [^4]: The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a United Nations agency that works to promote and protect human rights.
• Identify holdings by company, sector and geography.
• Provide findings suitable to inform a future Conflict Zone Exposure Policy.

The market engagement produced the following key findings:

• Most providers were able to produce factual or data-only reports but were unwilling to provide policy recommendations due to reputational and methodological uncertainty in this evolving area.
• Consultancy-based reviews required three to five months, which would not align with the Committee's December 2025 timetable.
• Most proposals offered a one-off point-in-time report, whereas officers sought a tool that could be refreshed dynamically as holdings changed.
• Given the March 2026 pooling mandate, entering long-term consultancy contracts was not considered efficient or practical.

Following consultation with the Chair and Director of Finance, officers determined that a technology-driven approach would best meet Camden's objectives, and the Fund subscribed to the RepRisk ESG incident-monitoring platform.

The RepRisk subscription cost £17,000 (including setup).

The Responsible Investment Update included an overview and purpose, stating that following recent member and public interest in conflict-related investment exposure, Camden Pension Fund undertook a global assessment of its holdings using two complementary approaches:

• A worldwide human-rights and conflict-risk screen using RepRisk, a respected ESG risk-intelligence tool.
• A focused review against the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN OHCHR) database of companies involved in activities linked to Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).

The update stated that Camden's global human-rights exposure is already very low, and under the new Investment Strategy Statement, this exposure reduces by 85%. It also stated that Camden's exposure to Israel/OPT-Linked companies is minimal and already declining, and the switch to Future World eliminates nearly all Israel/OPT-linked holdings currently found in the Passive Fund.

Under the proposed RI Policy and Conflict-Zone Exposure Policy:

• Camden will monitor all human-rights and conflict exposures globally
• The Fund will assess exposures using a uniform set of internationally recognised sources, applied equitably across all geographies.
• Camden will not target or single out any one region
• The Fund's screening is equitable, not politically or geographically determined.
• Stewardship First, Divestment Only as a Last Resort

Investment Strategy Review

The committee was scheduled to review a new Investment Strategy Statement (ISS) for the Camden Pension Fund, prepared by Isio, the Fund's Investment Consultant. The new ISS reflects the outcomes of the 2025 Investment Strategy Review, updates to the Fund's investment beliefs, and incorporates recent regulatory and pooling developments.

The ISS has been drafted in accordance with the statutory guidance issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in July 2017, titled Guidance on Preparing and Maintaining an Investment Strategy Statement.

Performance Report

The committee was scheduled to receive a report presenting the performance of the Pension Fund investment portfolio and that of the individual investment managers for the quarter ended 30 September 2025.

London Collective Investment Vehicle Progress Report

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on recent developments at the London Collective Investment Vehicle (CIV). The update was expected to be limited to the proposal from Buckinghamshire Pension Fund to join the London CIV as a Partner Fund.

Funding Strategy Statement

The committee was scheduled to discuss revisions to the Funding Strategy Statement (FSS), which establishes how scheme employers in the Pension Fund are treated. It sets out how employer liabilities are measured, the pace at which these liabilities are funded and how employers or pools within the Fund pay for their liabilities.

Admissions Policy

The committee was scheduled to discuss a draft Admissions Policy for the Camden Pension Fund. The policy sets out the Fund's framework for admitting new employers in accordance with the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 2013. It clarifies the Fund's default approach to new admissions, including the treatment of contractors admitted following outsourcing arrangements, and outlines the responsibilities of administering authorities, letting authorities and participating employers.

The policy aims to ensure that new admissions are managed transparently, consistently and in a way that protects the interests of the Fund and its employers.

Contributions Review Policy

The committee was scheduled to discuss the draft Contributions Review Policy for approval. The policy sets out the circumstances under which the administering authority may review employer contribution rates between triennial valuations, in line with the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Regulations and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) statutory guidance.

The purpose of the policy is to provide employers with transparency and consistency, particularly in situations involving significant changes to funding, employer covenant, membership profile, or anticipated exit from the Fund.

Cessation Policy

The committee was scheduled to discuss the Cessation Policy for approval. The policy sets out the administering authority's approach to managing the cessation of employers participating in the Camden Pension Fund. It clarifies how liabilities are calculated when an employer exits the Fund, how any resulting surplus or deficit is treated, and how the Fund exercises its discretionary powers under the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Regulations 2013 (as amended).

The policy has been prepared by the Fund Actuary, Hymans Robertson, in line with Regulation 64 of the LGPS Regulations 2013 and statutory guidance from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

Engagement Report

The committee was scheduled to receive an update with engagement activity undertaken by the Fund and on its behalf by LAPFF (the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum) since the last Committee meeting.