The Local Pension Board meeting scheduled for 8 December 2025 was set to review the current status of pension fund matters as of 30 September 2025. This included an update on the performance of the Pension Fund's investments and a discussion of administrative performance.

Current Update on Pension Fund Matters

The meeting's agenda included a comprehensive update on pension fund matters as of 30 September 2025. This report was intended to provide members with information on current pension scheme matters and an overview of the performance of the Pension Fund's investments. The report highlighted that the pension administration function, delivered by a team of 10.25 full-time equivalents including the Pensions Manager, had met its deadlines for issuing annual benefit statements. The team was also working on migrating from the Member Self Service (MSS) portal to Engage, a new member portal, in December 2025. Additionally, the report noted ongoing work related to the McCloud Judgement and the 2025 fund valuation.

Performance of the Pension Fund's Investments

A significant portion of the scheduled discussion was dedicated to the performance of the Pension Fund's investments as at 30 September 2025. The quarterly market review indicated that global equity markets had risen over the quarter, influenced by positive corporate earnings and trade developments between the US and China. UK equity markets also saw an increase, while European markets experienced more cautious growth. Bond markets showed mixed yields, with US Treasury yields falling and prices rising, while UK and European yields rose and prices fell.

The report detailed the Fund's asset allocation, noting a revised investment strategy from February 2024 which included commitments to invest in the LCIV UK Housing Fund and the Nature Based Fund. The report provided a table comparing the bid-market values of the Fund by investment mandate on 30 June and 30 September 2025, alongside the strategic asset allocation.

Performance figures for the whole fund were presented, showing a return of 5.76% for the quarter ending 30 September 2025, outperforming the benchmark return of 4.81%. Over one year, the fund returned 10.31% against a benchmark of 9.59%, and over three years, it returned 8.91% against a benchmark of 7.98%. However, over five years, the fund's return of 5.88% was below the benchmark of 6.62%. The report also included commentary on individual investment manager performance, which was detailed in Appendix E.

Administration Performance and Other Matters

The meeting was also scheduled to review the administration performance of the pension team against key performance indicators. The report indicated that the team had successfully met all four targets (PEN01, PEN02, PEN03, and PEN04) during the quarter, with notable improvements in PEN02 and PEN03, which relate to the timeliness of processing new member records and retirements.

Other items on the agenda included the draft minutes of the previous meeting held on 2 October 2025, and a reminder of the requirement for members to declare any interests. The date of the next meeting, scheduled for 16 March 2026, was also to be noted. A motion to exclude the public was listed, indicating that exempt information was to be discussed in private, specifically relating to an exempt appendix to the pension fund matters report.

The attendees listed for the meeting were Ian Coleman (Independent Member and Chair), Councillor Neil Zammett (Employer Member), Doreen Daly (Scheme Member), Iain Varah (Employer Member), and Laura Kirman (Scheme Member).