The Pensions Panel noted the performance of the Staffordshire Pension Fund, the Responsible Investment and Engagement report, and the dates of future meetings. It was noted that the term Responsible Investment and Engagement would be updated to Responsible Investment and Stewardship.

Responsible Investment & Engagement (RI&E) Report

The Panel discussed the Responsible Investment and Engagement (RI&E) Report for the quarter ended 30 September 2024.

A significant amount of time was given to discussing the engagement and voting process of Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM).

Concerns had been raised about LGIM's ‘box-ticking’ approach to voting and the potential negative impact this might have on some companies. Additional concerns were raised about the feasibility of active engagement by investment teams, as it was highlighted that it would be challenging to engage meaningfully over 3,000 times in a calendar quarter. This raised questions about the nature of LGIM's engagement compared to that of active managers at a company level.

The Panel were assured by LGIM's approach.

The Panel also considered the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) Q3 2024 Quarterly Engagement Report and the LGPS Central Q3 2024 Quarterly Stewardship Update.

The LAPFF report detailed their engagement with Ryanair on carbon emissions from aviation, with Severn Trent Water on Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), and with Compass Group and Hollywood Bowl on the use of zero-hours contracts.

The LGPS Central report discussed the EOS at Federated Hermes engagement with Nationwide on climate scenario analysis, with Vale on natural capital, and with DSV A/S on human rights. It also detailed their direct engagement with Barclays Plc on their commitments to stop financing new oil and gas exploration projects, and with Shell following their decision to retract their 2035 carbon intensity target.

Pension Fund Performance and Portfolio of Investments

The Panel received a report on the Staffordshire Pension Fund (the Fund) performance and portfolio of investments as at 30 September 2024.

The report showed that equity markets had been buoyant towards the end of the quarter.

60% of the index constituents beating the MSCI All Country World Index, a first in 20 years.

The Fund was valued at £7.7 billion. It was the highest valuation to date.

A correction was noted in paragraph 8 regarding the increase in value of the Fund, which was listed as £0.89 billion when it should have been £0.089 billion.

The attached portfolio of investments showed that the largest single investment is in a passive equities fund managed by LGIM, which holds the MSCI All Country World Index. The Fund's property portfolio is valued at £622,273,291, with the largest single asset being a Limited Partnership in the Ashford Designer Outlet Centre.

Dates of Future Meetings

The Panel noted the dates of future meetings:

• 4 March 2024, 9:30am – Oak Room, County Buildings

A number of topics were considered in the part of the meeting from which the public were excluded. These included:

• Exempt Minutes of the Meeting held on 3 September 2024
• Economic and Market update
• Pension Fund Performance and Manager Monitoring for the quarter ended 30 September
• Strategic Asset Allocation - Quarterly update
• Property - Confirmation of the action of the Director of Finance in relation to Property
• Global Sustainable Equity update
• Public Market Equity update