ITEM PF3PENSION FUND COMMITTEE – 26 MAY 2006Minutes of the Meeting commencing at 10.15 am and finishing at 1.13 pm Present: Voting
Members: Councillor
Bill Bradshaw Officers: Whole of meeting: Mr K Bell and Mrs S Fox (Resources); Ms M Holyman (Chief Executive’s Office) By
Invitation: The Committee considered the matters, reports and recommendations contained or referred to in the agenda for the meeting, together with a schedule of addenda and a graph showing updated FTSE share indices (Agenda Item 8E) tabled at the meeting, and decided as set out below. Except insofar as otherwise specified, the reasons for the decisions are contained in the agenda, reports, schedule and graph, copies of which are attached to the signed Minute
RESOLVED: that
Councillor Rose be elected as Chairman of the Committee for the current
Council Year. RESOLVED: that Councillor Harvey be elected as Deputy Chairman for the current Council Year.
19/06. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND TEMPORARY APPOINTMENTS Apologies for absence and temporary appointments were received as follows:
20/06. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST Councillors
Bradshaw, Harvey, Moley, Price (Co-opted Member), Rose and Service declared
personal interests as members of the Pension Fund Scheme under the provisions
of Section 18 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. Councillors
Moley and Service declared prejudicial interests in Agenda Item 16 (Local
Government Pension Scheme Regulations – Application for Admission as
a Transferee Admission Body) as members of the Vale of White Horse and
South Oxfordshire District Councils respectively.
ITEMS FOLLOWING THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC
24/06. OVERVIEW AND OUTLOOK FOR THE INVESTMENT MARKETS* (Agenda Item 8E) The Committee considered a report (PF8E) which set out an overview of the current and future investment scene and market developments across various regions and sectors. The Independent Financial Adviser circulated a graph showing updated FTSE share indices. He also reported orally and responded to members’ questions. RESOLVED: to receive the Independent Financial Adviser’s written and oral reports and to bear the Independent Financial Adviser’s conclusions in mind when considering the Fund Managers’ reports.
25/06. REPORT OF MAIN ISSUES ARISING FROM REPORTS OF THE FUND MANAGERS NOT REPRESENTED AT THIS MEETING* (Agenda item 9E) The Independent Financial Adviser reported that he and officers had met with Alliance Bernstein and Baillie Gifford. Alliance Bernstein had offered a higher outperformance target against benchmark for its performance on its new global platform. Its performance since inception had been 22.8% compared with the Oxfordshire benchmark of 20%. He reported that Baillie Gifford’s performance over the last two quarters had been good compared with its performance over the quarters ending June and September 2005. He said that UBS’s performance would be discussed at a meeting with the Company to be held in July. RESOLVED: to note the main issues arising from the reports.
26/06. UBS GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT* (Agenda Item 10E) RESOLVED: to
receive UBS’s quarterly and presentation reports for the quarter ending
31 March 2006. (Agenda Item 11E) The representatives (Mr J Cloke, Mr R Barnard-Smith and Ms H Gaukrodger) of the Fund Manager reported and reviewed the present investments of their part of the Fund and their strategy against the background of the current investment scene for the period which ended on 31 March 2006. They responded to questions. RESOLVED: to
receive Legal & General’s quarterly and presentation reports for
the quarter ending 31 March 2006. (Agenda Item 12E) The Independent Financial Adviser said that he had nothing further to add to the comments he had made earlier in the meeting.
29/06. APPOINTMENT OF PRIVATE EQUITY MANAGERS* (Agenda Item 13E) The Committee considered a report (PF13E). It was reminded that, in November 2005, it had given the officers and the Independent Financial Adviser delegated authority to short list, interview and appoint appropriate private equity managers, having regard to achieving a well diversified portfolio in terms of both geographical and financing stage. The report explained how the tender, evaluation and short listing of the managers had been undertaken and provided the reasons why three managers had been short listed and why two of these had eventually been appointed. RESOLVED: to note that officers and the Independent Financial Adviser had, in accordance with the authority which the Committee had delegated to them in November 2005, appointed Adam Street Partners to manage £13.2 million in private equity fund of funds and Partners Group to manage £6.8 million in private equity fund of secondaries funds, subject to the satisfactory completion of contracts. ITEMS FOLLOWING THE RE-ADMISSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC
30/06. GROUP ACTION CLAIM FOR RECOVERY OF OVERSEAS TAX (Agenda Item 14) The Committee considered a report (PF14) which set out details of a legal action which KPMG and McGrigors were progressing on behalf of a number of pension schemes. The report set out the background to the action, indicated the potential benefit to the Fund and sought the Committee’s approval to Oxfordshire Pension Fund joining this action and to the costs of involvement. RESOLVED: to (a) authorise the defrayment of the cost of the quantification exercise (estimated cost shown in paragraph 18 of the report), subject to any additional expenditure on this exercise being agreed by the Head of Finance & Procurement after consultation with the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Opposition Group Spokesman; (b) delegate
to the Head of Finance & Procurement and the County Solicitor
the decision as to whether to join the GLO on the basis of the
evidence of the quantification exercise;
31/06. CHANGES TO THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT PENSION SCHEME (LGPS) (Agenda Item 15) The Committee considered a report (PF15) which provided a briefing on the recent changes to the LGPS in the context of the wider ('A Day') changes to the UK pension regime and updated the Committee on a number of administrative issues. RESOLVED to:
(Agenda Item 16) The Committee considered a report (PF16) which set out one application for admission as a transferee admission body to the Pension Fund. RESOLVED: to approve the application of Capita as set out in the report subject to it agreeing to the terms of the Admission Agreement, to it putting a bond in place in accordance with actuarial advice and to it being aware of the employer responsibilities of membership to the fund and to this Committee being informed when the agreement is signed. (Councillors
Moley and Service left the room for this item.) (Agenda Item 17) The Committee was informed at its meeting in February 2006 that steps were being taken to recruit a second stage nominated person, following the death of Mr Langridge. The Committee was informed that Mr John Briscoe had been appointed to this post from 1 April 2006. Mr Briscoe had been Pensions Manager at Norfolk County Council until 1997, after which time he had become an independent consultant. The Committee was further advised that he had comprehensive knowledge of the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations and undertook the second stage nominated person role for 15 other local authorities. RESOLVED: to
note the report. (Agenda Item 18) The Committee considered a report (PF18) which informed it that the Head of Finance & Procurement had made a decision under the powers delegated her by the Committee at its meeting in November 2005 of whether a child’s pension could continue when a gap year had been taken. RESOLVED: to
note the report. (Agenda Item 19) The Head of Finance & Procurement reported that there were no issues arising from the last Annual Forum. RESOLVED: to
note the report and to agree that the next Forum be held on 24 November
2006 at 2.30 pm. (Agenda Item 20) The Head of Finance & Procurement reported that there was nothing specific to report for this quarter but it should be noted that all the managers had included pages within their valuation reports which provided details on their voting at company AGMs, engagement with companies and their involvement with other socially responsible initiatives. RESOLVED: to note the report. in the Chair Date of signing 2006
The reports relating to the exempt items have not been made public and should be regarded as strictly private to those members and officers entitled to receive them.
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