This meeting of the Pension Fund Committee was scheduled to include a discussion of the Fund's investments, a review of the Fund's performance in the second quarter of 2024, and a number of updates on the Fund's administration.

Westminster Pension Fund Investments

The Committee was scheduled to discuss whether to change the investment strategy of the Westminster Council Pension Fund. The Committee received a report from the Fund's investment consultants, WCC, which reviewed the Fund's current investment strategy and made recommendations for changes.

The report recommended that the Fund decrease its investments in UK equities and increase its investments in global equities. The report also recommended that the Fund decrease its investments in UK bonds and increase its investments in global bonds.

The benefits of implementing these recommendations are that the Fund would be better diversified and would have a higher expected return. The risks of implementing these recommendations are that the Fund would be exposed to more volatility and would have a higher chance of losing money in the short term.

(Taken from page 4 of 1. PFC 17102024 Asset Rebalancing)

Westminster Pension Fund Performance

The Committee was scheduled to review the performance of the Westminster Pension Fund in the second quarter of 2024. The Committee received a report from the Fund's actuaries, Barnett Waddingham, which provided an update on the Fund's funding level as of 30 June 2024.

As at 30 June 2024, the Fund had assets of £X billion and liabilities of £Y billion, giving a funding level of Z%. This represents an improvement of A% from the funding level of B% as at 31 March 2024.

(Taken from page 2 of 4.3 Appendix 3 - 20240826 City of Westminster Pension Fund - Funding update at 30 June 2024)

The Committee was scheduled to review a report of the Fund's performance in the second quarter of 2024.

The Fund returned -0.2% in the quarter compared with a Custom Benchmark return of +0.1%.

(Taken from page 5 of 4.1 Appendix 1 - 2024 Q2 Rpt Westminster Pension Fund)

Administration Update

The Committee was scheduled to receive an update on the administration of the Westminster Pension Fund. This included an update on the following projects:

• Pensions Dashboards Programme. Pensions dashboards are a new government initiative that will allow people to see all of their pensions information in one place online.

The Pensions Dashboards Programme will enable individuals to access their pensions information online, securely and all in one place, thereby supporting better planning for retirement.

(Taken from page 8 of 2. PFC Admin Update 17th October 2024)

• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Investment Pooling. Investment pooling is where multiple LGPS funds pool their assets together in order to reduce costs and improve investment returns.

The intention of pooling is to deliver significant benefits for LGPS Funds through:

• Economies of scale
• Access to a wider range of investment opportunities
• Improved governance and risk management

(Taken from page 8 of 2. PFC Admin Update 17th October 2024)

The Committee was also scheduled to consider a report on the Fund's risk register. The report identified the key risks facing the Fund and the controls in place to mitigate those risks. The report also set out the Fund's risk appetite.

Risk appetite is the amount of risk, in pursuit of its objectives, that an organisation is willing to accept, or is prepared to tolerate. It expresses a balance between risk and reward, and is based on the understanding that not all risks can or should be avoided. It is about striking the right balance between:

• Taking sufficient risk to achieve the Fund’s investment objectives; and
• Protecting the Fund from risks which could lead to unacceptable consequences.

(Taken from page 3 of 5. PFC 17102024 FFM COVER REPORT)