The Pension Board for Gloucestershire Council met on Thursday 23 October 2025 to discuss governance, operations, funding and investment matters. The agenda included business and performance updates, the annual report, and the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Report 2024-25. Some items on the agenda were scheduled to be discussed in the absence of the press and public due to the commercially sensitive nature of the information.

Gloucestershire Pension Fund Update - Governance and Operations

Matthew Trebilcock, Head of Pensions, was scheduled to present a report to update the board on governance and operational matters since the previous meeting. The report included the Pension Committee minutes of 2 July 2025 and the draft minutes from 18 September 2025.

Other topics included:

• An employer update
• The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Access and Fairness consultation
• The Pension Schemes Bill
• The risk register
• Key performance indicators
• The Business Plan 2025/26
• The new Gloucestershire Pension Fund website

The LGPS Access and Fairness Consultation response was prepared with regard to views expressed by the Local Government Association¹ and the Scheme Advisory Board². The consultation covered:

• Equalising survivor benefits
• Death grants
• Gender pension gaps
• Opt-outs
• Forfeiture

The Pension Schemes Bill is part of the UK government's broader pensions reform agenda, aiming to:

• Accelerate LGPS asset pooling
• Enhance governance
• Stimulate UK investment
• Improve member outcomes

The report also included a summary of the risk register, including highlighted risks such as governance and risks relating to asset pooling.

Gloucestershire Pension Fund Update - Funding & Investment

Matthew Trebilcock was also scheduled to present a report summarising the fund's funding position, market value, asset allocation, investment performance, responsible investment activity and engagement activity since the previous board meeting.

The report included discussion of:

• The funding position
• Investment updates
• Investment activities and strategic asset allocation
• LGPS performance benchmarking
• Responsible investment updates
• The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) Quarterly Engagement Report
• Fund Equity Analysis
• Carbon Metrics Report
• The UK Stewardship Code 2020
• Brunel Pension Partnership

The report stated that over the quarter to 30 June 2025, the Fund's total market value increased by £143.927m, to £3,728.084m. Over the previous 12 months, total Fund assets underperformed the strategic benchmark by 0.3%, with a return of 6.8%. Performance over the 3 years to 30 June 2025 was 8.0% annualised, which equals the strategic benchmark.

The LGPS Performance Benchmarking showed that the fund was in the top performance quartile.

The Fund Equity Analysis showed that Standard Chartered, Tencent Holdings and Compass Group had moved into the top 20 holdings, while Eli Lilly & Co, Autozone Inc and United Health Group were no longer in the top 20 holdings.

The Carbon Metrics Report stated that the Weighted Average Carbon Intensity (WACI) by revenue of the Gloucestershire Aggregate Portfolio is below its Strategic Benchmark, with a relative efficiency of +29%.

Pension Fund Audit & Financial Statements 2024-25

Matthew Trebilcock was scheduled to present a report to update the board on the progress of the Pension Fund Audit for 2024-25. The report included the Audit Plan 2024-25 and the Draft Audit Findings Report 2024-25 provided by KPMG³.

The report stated that under the terms of the Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) contract a planned audit fee for the Pension Fund audit of £89,650 applies. Materiality has been set at £35.8m, which equates to 1% of total assets at 31 March 2025.

The report also noted that the late receipt of a deficit contribution payments during the year for Gloucester City Council was identified under the audit.

Board Annual Report 2024-25

Matthew Trebilcock was scheduled to present a report asking the board to provide feedback on the draft annual report, and to approve the Board Annual Report 2024-25, subject to any feedback received.

The report provided details of the constitution of the Board, the respective Employer and Member representatives and their attendance at the meetings held. The annual report provided an overview of the items received and reviewed by the Board at its meetings in 2024-25, and an indication of the future work programme for the Board for 2025-26, which will focus on the Funds core projects within the business plan for 2025-26 including the 2025 triennial valuation.

Pension Fund Annual Report 2024-25 & Taskforce on Climate Related Financial Disclosures Report 2024-25

Matthew Trebilcock was scheduled to present a report to provide the Board with the draft statutory annual report of the Pension Fund for 2024-25 and with the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Report 2024-25.

The TCFD report provided an update on specific actions taken by the Fund to support the transition to a low carbon economy and manage climate risks within its investments.

The report stated that the Fund has aligned its investment strategy with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It also stated that the Fund continues to work with Mercer, an investment consultancy, to assess progress against these targets using the Analytics for Climate Transition (ACT) framework.

Exclusion of Press and Public

Finally, the agenda stated that the press and public may be excluded from the meeting while the following items were discussed, because it was likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12 A to the Local Government Act 1972, and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information to the public:

• Pension Board Exempt Minutes
• Gloucestershire Pension Fund Business Update
• LGPS - Fit for Future - Pension Pooling