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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Katharine Street, Croydon CR0 1NX. View directions

Contact: Annette Wiles 020 8726 6000 x 64877  Email: annette.wiles@croydon.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1/19

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 60 KB

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 4 December 2019 as an accurate record.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 4 December 2018 were agreed as an accurate record.

 

2/19

Disclosure of Interests

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct and the statutory provisions of the Localism Act, Members and co-opted Members of the Council are reminded that it is a requirement to register disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) and gifts and hospitality to the value of which exceeds £50 or multiple gifts and/or instances of hospitality with a cumulative value of £50 or more when received from a single donor within a rolling twelve month period. In addition, Members and co-opted Members are reminded that unless their disclosable pecuniary interest is registered on the register of interests or is the subject of a pending notification to the Monitoring Officer, they are required to disclose those disclosable pecuniary interests at the meeting. This should be done by completing the Disclosure of Interest form and handing it to the Democratic Services representative at the start of the meeting. The Chair will then invite Members to make their disclosure orally at the commencement of Agenda item 3. Completed disclosure forms will be provided to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion on the Register of Members’ Interests.

 

Minutes:

There were no disclosures of interests.

3/19

Urgent Business (if any)

To receive notice of any business not on the agenda which in the opinion of the Chair, by reason of special circumstances, be considered as a matter of urgency.

 

Minutes:

Discussion of urgent business was taken in Part B of the agenda.

 

4/19

Update presentation: London CIV

For the Members of the Committee to receive an update presentation from Kevin Cullen, Client Relations Director, London CIV. The presentation will be provided at the meeting.

Minutes:

The Committee received a presentation on recent developments at the London CIV from Kevin Cullen, London CIV Client Relations Director.

 

This presentation covered:

 

       I.          Governance arrangements,

     II.          The appointment of a new Chief Operating Officer and the recruitment of a new Chief Investment Officer; and

    III.          The launch of new product lines.

 

Committee Members asked questions regarding:

 

       I.          The extent to which the CIV would develop its own in-house expertise for different asset classes;

     II.          The performance of the Global Bond fund;

    III.          Any money savings for the Croydon Pension Fund in participating in the London CIV; and

   IV.          Background information on the timeliness of recent money transfers to the London CIV.

 

RESOLVED: Committee Members noted the update provided by the London CIV and thanked Mr. Cullen for his presentation and for answering questions.

 

5/19

Update presentation: M&G

For the Members of the Committee to receive an update presentation from Lucy Williams, Director of Institutional Business UK and Europe, M&G

Minutes:

The Committee received an update presentation from Lucy Williams, Director of Institutional Business UK and Europe, M&G. This provided an overview of M&G’s Residential Property Fund and its investment strategy.

 

Committee Members asked questions regarding the fund including:

 

       I.          Clarification on the longevity of properties;

     II.          Clarification on the liquidity of the fund;

    III.          The risks caused by factors such as planning requirements and political risk with M&G undertaking to provide written material on political risk modelling;

   IV.          The disposal of properties;

     V.          The structure of the organisation;

   VI.          The location of future developments; and

 VII.          The environmental ratings of properties being developed.

 

RESOLVED: Committee Members:

 

       I.          Noted the contents of the presentation and thanked Lucy Williams for her presentation and for answering questions: and

     II.          Resolved to take up the invitation to visit an M&G property asset.

 

6/19

Currency hedging pdf icon PDF 70 KB

For Members of the Committee to consider the case for implementing currency hedging for the equity investment part of the portfolio.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Peter Gent, FIA, Mercer Ltd, provided Members with an overview of the issues to be considered when deciding whether or not to implement currency hedging for the equity investment part of the Pension Fund portfolio ex emerging markets. Members asked questions to provide for their best understanding of options, risks, costs, value and appropriate levels of hedging exposure and timing.

 

RESOLVED: the Members of the Committee resolved to approve the recommendations in the report:

 

1.     To note the report on currency hedging commissioned from Mercer; and

2.     To delegate to the Chief Financial Officer, in consultation with the Committee’s Chair and the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, the decision whether and when to implement a currency hedge.

 

7/19

Audit Plan for the Local Government Pension Fund

To receive for information, an update on the audit of the Pension Fund. This report will be received at the meeting.

Minutes:

RESOLVED: the Committee resolved to note the audit plan from Grant Thornton.

8/19

Progress report (Q3) pdf icon PDF 140 KB

For Members of the Committee to receive a progress report for Q3.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED: the Members of the Committee resolved to agree the recommendations in the report:

1.     To note the performance of the fund for the quarter; and

2.     To delegate fund investment decisions to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the Chair of the Pension Committee and the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources.

9/19

Risk register review pdf icon PDF 61 KB

For Members of the Committee to consider all risks assessed at amber and above.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED: the Members of the Committee resolved to note the report.

 

10/19

Key Performance Indicators for the Local Government Pension Scheme pdf icon PDF 114 KB

For Members of the Committee to consider the updated Key Performance Indicators for the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Minutes:

There was not sufficient time for this item to be considered at the meeting and therefore it was deferred for consideration at the Committee meeting in May 2019.

11/19

Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 81 KB

For the Members of the Committee to consider the business plan for the forthcoming year and agree the review of key policy documents.

Minutes:

There was not sufficient time for this item to be considered at the meeting and therefore it was deferred for consideration at the Committee meeting in May 2019.

 

12/19

Consultation: draft statutory guidance on pooling assets pdf icon PDF 89 KB

For the Members of the Committee to consider its response to the consultation on the draft statutory guidance on asset pooling.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There was not sufficient time for this item to be considered at the meeting. Given the deadline for the consultation was before the next Committee meeting, it was agreed that Members would be kept informed by email regarding the consultation response.

 

13/19

Review: training support for the Pensions Committee pdf icon PDF 79 KB

To consider the training support needed by the Members of the Committee.

Minutes:

There was not sufficient time for this item to be considered at the meeting and therefore it was deferred for consideration at the Committee meeting in May 2019.

 

14/19

Exclusion of the Press and Public

The following motion is to be moved and seconded where it is proposed to exclude the press and public from the remainder of a meeting:

 

“That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within those paragraphs indicated in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.”

 

Minutes:

The following motion was moved by Councillor Pelling and seconded by Peter Howard to exclude the press and public:

 

“That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within those paragraphs indicated in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.”

 

The motion was put and it was agreed by the Committee to exclude the press and public for the remainder of the meeting.

 

15/19

Progress report (Q3)

For Members of the Committee to receive those aspects of the progress report for Q3 that are exempt.

 

Minutes:

The Committee’s resolution is recorded in agenda item 8.