The Pension Board confirmed the minutes of the meeting held on 18 March 2024, agreed the annual report of the Board for 2023/24 and noted a report on the performance of the Royal Borough of Greenwich Pension Fund’s (the Fund) investment managers for the period ending 31 March 2024.

Draft Pension Fund Annual Report 2023/24

The Board reviewed and commented on the Draft Pension Fund Annual Report for 2023/24 including the draft Pension Fund Annual Statement of Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2024. The Board noted that the draft version will be published prior to the statutory deadline of 1 December 2024 and that the final version will be published upon receipt of the external auditor's opinion. The auditor's opinion will follow approval of the report by the whole Council.

Pension Panel Meeting Activity

The Board noted the minutes of the Pension Investment and Administration Panel meeting held on 18 March 2024.

During the meeting the Panel agreed the Royal Borough of Greenwich Pension Fund Stewardship Report 2023. The report details how the activities undertaken by the Fund meet the standards set out in the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) UK Stewardship Code 2020. The Panel also requested a minor amendment to the Pension Fund Communications Policy Statement. The amendment was subsequently added to the statement before it was published.

The statement was updated to include the following wording:

"The Fund will make best endeavours to “issue a regular, at least annual, newsletter to all staff – members and non-members of the scheme” in “simple accessible language outlining costs, benefits, contact details and any recent updates or changes affecting scheme members. In addition, it should contain for instance case studies of individuals receiving their pensions, members’ experience of additional contributions etc”.

The Panel also noted and commented on the Draft Panel’s Business Plan for 2024/25 and the draft Pension Fund accounts for the period ending 31 December 2023. The Panel also reviewed the Conflict-of-Interest Policy for the Local Pension Board and agreed the updated Pension Fund Risk Register.

Fund Manager Performance to 31 March 2024

The Board considered, in closed session, a report on the performance of the Fund’s investment managers for the quarter ending 31 March 2024. The report was produced by the Fund's investment consultant, Hymans Robertson.¹

As of 31 March 2024, the fund held assets worth £1.69bn. The report highlighted the following key points:

• The total value of the Fund's assets increased by approximately £54m in Q4 2023/24.
• The fund's allocation to equities stood at 48.3% of the portfolio - above the benchmark allocation of 40%.
• The US economy exceeded growth expectations in the last quarter of 2023.
• US, UK and Eurozone inflation figures were mixed.
• The Bank of Japan raised interest rates for the first time in 17 years.

The report also assessed the individual performance of each of the Fund's investment managers for the quarter ending 31 March 2024 and year ending 31 March 2024. The returns for all managers over the year ending 31 March 2024 are as follows:

• Blackrock: 8.0%
• LGIM: 9.3%
• Fidelity Global Emerging Market Equity: 5.7%
• Fidelity Multi-Asset Credit: 2.5%
• Fidelity UK Aggregate Bond: -0.8%
• CBRE Property: 0.3%
• Partners Group: 6.8%
• LCIV Real Return Fund: 1.7%
• LCIV Absolute Return Fund: 0.7%
• LCIV Renewable Infrastructure: N/A
• LCIV Private Debt: N/A

All returns quoted above are net of fees. LCIV Renewable Infrastructure and LCIV Private Debt performance was not formally assessed against its objective as both funds were created within the last 4 years.