|
Task
|
Comments
|
Deadline
|
|
Standardise
the corporate governance and voting reporting procedures
|
The Pension
Fund’s custodian, ABN AMRO Mellon, is working on producing a single
voting report for Oxfordshire. This will list the Company AGM and
EGM motions and show how Oxfordshire’s managers have voted.
|
June 2004
|
|
Consider membership
to the LAPFF
|
Explore the
option of becoming a member of the Local Authority Pension Fund
Forum as a means for the Oxfordshire Fund to adopt a more activist
approach in its dealing with companies.
|
June 2004
|
|
Review Commission
Recapture arrangements
|
Consider whether
the custodian, ABN AMRO Mellon should provide commission recapture
in preference to the existing provider, Frank Russell Securities.
|
June 2004.
|
|
Transfer the
custodianship of private equity to ABN AMRO Mellon
|
The custody
arrangement for private equity is currently carried out in-house.
It is the intention to transfer this to ABN AMRO Mellon.
|
June 2004
|
|
Actuarial Valuation
|
Provide the
necessary investment information to the Actuary.
|
August 2004
|
|
Hedge Funds
|
Agree a procedure
to monitor and review the Fund’s investments in Hedge Funds.
|
September 2004
|
|
Review the
Fund’s voting, Corporate Governance and SRI arrangements.
|
A formal report
will be produced reviewing the Fund’s existing arrangements for
voting, corporate governance and SRI. The report will consider whether
the Fund, as a large shareholder, is being sufficiently proactive.
|
November 2004
|
|
Carry out a
fundamental review of the role of the Independent Financial Adviser
(IFA)
|
Determine the
role objectives and responsibilities of the Independent Financial
Adviser so that these can form the basis of a new contractual relationship
to ensure the continuity of independent advice from the end if the
current IFA contract in November 2004. This will cover issues such
as the arrangements for managing Private Equity, Hedge Funds and
Asset Allocation.
|
November 2004
|
|
Monitor and
report transaction costs
|
Managers will
be requested to report transaction costs quarterly to the Pension
Fund Committee. Officers and the Independent Financial Adviser will
produce an independent joint report.
|
December 2004.
|
|
Review the
Fund’s pooled investment vehicles.
|
For certain
asset classes the Pension Fund’s managers invest in pooled vehicles
in order to achieve a further degree of diversification. A report
will be produced reviewing these investment vehicles.
|
December 2004
|
|
Review the
Asset Liability Study and the Pension Fund’s asset allocation
|
The Pension
Fund’s asset allocation will be reviewed in conjunction to drawing
up the Funding Strategy Statement
|
February 2005
|
|
Draw up a Funding
Strategy Statement (FSS)
|
This is in
compliance with an ODPM requirement to have a reviewable FSS in
place no later than 1 April 2005
|
February 2005
|
|
Task
|
Current
Status
|
Deadline
|
Status
|
|
Develop document
image processing (DIP) and implement on a phased basis
|
Over 30,000
files have now been imaged and are loaded onto the pension system.
These can now be viewed from the desktop. There are just over 1,000
still needing to be scanned.
Completed files
are now being scanned and indexed within the office.
|
31.03.04
|
On-going
|
|
Review arrangements
for fire pensions & teachers compensation administration incl.
automation of fire pension records
|
Fire pension
records are now loaded onto AXISe.
Discussion
regarding administration of teachers’ compensation scheduled for
January 2004.
|
|
Completed
On going
|
|
Introduce a
formal complaints monitoring process
|
We have put
a complaints monitoring system into place, however, until Task Management
is introduced we will be unable to produce statistics showing number
of complaints against work volumes.
|
30.09.03
|
On going
|
|
Create staff
training and professional development programme
|
To facilitate
staff training we have reorganised the work to a functional basis
this allows us to move team members between different functions.
Responsibility for internal training has been given to a Senior
Pensions Officer, who is spending time with each team member, producing
guidance notes and checking work to ensure understanding and consistency.
Additionally
6 team members have started their qualification in pension administration
at foundation level and 2 team members are undertaking their diploma
in pension management.
|
30.09.03
|
On going
|
|
Determine and
negotiate charges for fire & teachers admin to be implemented
1 April 2003
|
New charges
agreed for administration of fire pensions – effective April 2004.
Discussion
about charges made for administration of teachers compensation scheduled
for January 2004.
|
|
Completed
On going
|
|
Task
|
Current
Status
|
Deadline
|
Status
|
|
Develop automated
interface from MIS and encourage development of interface from other
large employers
|
The development
of an automatic interface from the payroll records held in SAP to
update the pension records has been much slower and more problematic
than envisaged. Partly this was due to the delay in involving pensions
staff in the process and the necessity to have ITNet programme more
detailed requirements for the data transfer. We now have all the
information back to November 2002 for all new entrants and the majority
of starters for each month are loaded onto the pensions system.
There are a number of errors and inconsistencies which need to be
individually checked and validated. Errors in inputting information
onto SAP have caused further problems, as some of the data received
on the interface is inaccurate. Further work will be needed to get
the amendment and hour changes interfaces working and, at present
ITNet are developing a report to provide the information required
for monthly leavers.
Oxford Brookes
University have offered to be a test site, but no action has yet
been taken.
|
|
On going
|
|
Develop training
programme for employing body HR staff
|
The focus of
this training has been more towards HR staff at Oxfordshire County
Council to pick up issues with the introduction of MIS. There has
also been some training carried out in the Districts, but this needs
to be formalised and extended. A monthly newsletter has also been
introduced to keep staff updated of changes to Local Government
Pension Scheme.
|
30.09.03
|
On going
|
|
Develop AXIS
TASK for introduction from 1 April 2003
|
This target
date has been pushed back because of the work arising from the development
of the interfaces from SAP, document imaging and data cleansing
prior to the 2004 valuation. We have rescheduled this to start in
January with a completion date of March 2004.
|
31.03.04
|
Scheduled to
start January 2004
|
|
Introduce performance
measurement and monitoring processes
|
This function
is dependent upon having AXIS task management system in place. Therefore
the delay is in line with the delay in setting up of task management.
|
30.06.04
|
|
|
Develop performance
indicators for medium term planning purposes
|
As above.
|
30.06.04
|
|