Pension Sub-committee And Pension Board - 20/03/2023

At a JOINT MEETING of the PENSION SUB-COMMITTEE of the POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE AND THE PENSION BOARD held remotely on 20th March, 2023.

Present:-

PENSION SUB-COMMITTEE

BAILIES

COUNCILLORS

PENSION BOARD

Bailie Willie SAWERS, in the Chair.

I DECLARATION OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest.

II APOLOGIES

The Sub-Committee and Board noted apologies had been received from Councillor Crichton and Kenny Dick.

III MINUTE OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The minute of meeting of 12th December, 2022 was submitted and approved.

III(a) APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRPERSON OF PENSION BOARD

It was agreed by the Sub-Committee and Board that in accordance with the Public Service Pensions Act 2013, Arthur Nicoll be appointed to the post of Chair of the Pension Board for the period of 12 months.

Thanks were extended to Kenny Dick for his holding of this position for the previous period.

IV RISK REGISTER

There was submitted Report No 86-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, seeking approval for the Quarterly Risk Register for Tayside Pension Fund which was updated on 1st March, 2023, noting that there were no changes to risk profile since the previous report.

The Sub-Committee and Board approved the Quarterly Risk Register for Tayside Pension Fund, noting the revisions made.

V TAYSIDE PENSION FUND PROCUREMENT POLICY

There was submitted Report No 87-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, introducing the Procurement Policy of Tayside Pension Fund which set out the minimum standards and requirements for managing outsourcing and third-party service providers across the key stages of the outsourcing lifecycle, and the criteria for assessing value for money of the functions and activities that were outsourced to third parties.

The Sub-Committee and Board approved the policy which was subject to annual review and noted the content of the report.

VI TRAINING AND ATTENDANCE POLICY AND TRAINING PLAN 2023/2024

There was submitted Report No 88-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, presenting Tayside Pension Funds Training and Attendance Policy as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report which was subject to annual review, and the Training Plan for 2023/2024.

The Sub-Committee and Board:-

(i) approved the policy, noting that there were no changes to the requirements; and

(ii) approved the Training Plan for 2023/2024, noting that any training requirements not met in the prior year be carried forward to the 2023/2024 Plan, and that following a training needs analysis, training would be tailored to focus on individual needs as per audit recommendations.

VII PENSION ADMINISTRATION PERFORMANCE - QUARTERLY UPDATE TO 31ST DECEMBER 2022

There was submitted Report No 89-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, providing information on the recent quarters operational performance in relation to Pension Administration.

The Sub-Committee and Board noted the content of the report.

VIII TAYSIDE PENSION FUND - AUDIT SCOTLAND ANNUAL AUDIT PLAN 2022/2023

There was submitted Report No 90-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, providing a summary of the responsibilities and approach of Audit Scotland in respect of Tayside Pension Fund. for 2022/2023.

The Sub-Committee and Board:-

(i) noted the content of the report by Audit Scotland as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report; and

(ii) agreed to provide Audit Scotland with confirmation of any instances of actual, suspected or alleged fraud, as a requirement of the revised International Standard on Accounting (ISA) 240.

IX INTERNAL AUDIT RISK ASSESSMENT AND AUDIT PLAN 2023/2024

There was submitted Report No 91-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, setting out the risk assessment undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and detailing their Internal Audit plans for Tayside Pension Fund for 2023/2024.

The Sub-Committee and Board reviewed and approved the Internal Audit plan by (PwC) as detailed in Appendix A of the report.

X TAYSIDE PENSION FUND INTERNAL AUDIT REPORT - CONTRIBUTION MONITORING REVIEW

There was submitted Report No 92-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, detailing the Audit Report prepared by the Funds Internal Auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The Sub-Committee and Board agreed to note the content of the report on the audit exercise undertaken and to approve the management response.

XI TREASURY POLICY STATEMENT 2023/2024

There was submitted Report No 93-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, revising the Funds Treasury Policy Statement which was intended to govern all treasury activities carried out by Tayside Pension Fund.

The Sub-Committee and Board approved the policies and procedures laid out in the Treasury Policy Statement 2023/2024, as detailed in the Appendix of the report, noting that the Treasury Policy Statement must be revised annually, and there were no changes.

XII TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 2023/2024

There was submitted Report No 94-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, reviewing the Treasury Management Strategy for Tayside Pension Fund.

The Sub-Committee and Board approved the Treasury Management Strategy.

XIII PENSION ADMINISTRATION STRATEGY

There was submitted Report No 95-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, setting out the Funds policy in respect of the standards required of both the Fund and the participating employers to ensure that statutory obligations were met and also to demonstrate effective and efficient service delivery. The strategy contained a variety of performance measures against which the Fund and participating employers were assessed, with performance reported to the Sub-Committee and Board.

The Sub-Committee and Board agreed the strategy contained in the report.

XIV TAYSIDE PENSION FUND COMMUNICATIONS POLICY

There was submitted Report No 96-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, presenting a communications policy as required by the Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2014.

The Sub-Committee and Board approved the revised Communications Policy which had been reviewed in conjunction with the Funds Administration Strategy, noting that personal appointments for members were no longer suspended.

XV ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE POLICY

There was submitted Report No 97-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, reviewing the Tayside Pension Funds Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance Policy.

The Sub-Committee and Board approved the policy, noting that there were no changes.

XVI FUNDING STRATEGY STATEMENT 2023

There was submitted Report No 98-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, reviewing the Funding Strategy Statements for the Tayside Pension Fund.

The Sub-Committee and Board approved the statement, noting that there were no changes.

XVII STATEMENT OF INVESTMENT PRINCIPLES REVIEW

There was submitted Report No 99-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, reviewing the Statement of Investment Principles for Tayside Pension Fund.

The Sub-Committee and Board approved the statement, noting that there were no changes.

XVIII TAYSIDE PENSION FUND BUSINESS PLAN 2023/2024

There was submitted Report No 100-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, introducing the annual business plan for the Tayside Pension Fund.

The Sub-Committee and Board:-

(i) noted the information contained within the report; and

(ii) approved the 2023/2024 Business Plan which applied to the administration and management of the Tayside Pension Fund.

The Sub-Committee and Board resolved under Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 that the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the undernoted items of business on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 4, 6 and 11 of Part I of Schedule 7A of the Act.

XIX TAYSIDE PENSION FUND

(a) TAYSIDE PENSION FUND PERFORMANCE SUMMARY

There was submitted Report No 101-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, reviewing the investment performance of the Funds Investment Managers for the quarter to 31st December, 2022. The report compared investment performance of the Fund with the Funds specific benchmarks which consisted of various stock and security market indices.

The Sub-Committee and Board noted the information contained therein with regard to the performance of the Tayside Main Fund and their Fund Managers.

(b) SUMMARIES OF INVESTMENTS AND TRANSACTIONS - 1ST OCTOBER, 2022 TO 31ST DECEMBER, 2022

There was submitted Report No 83-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, reviewing the investment activities of Tayside Pension Funds five Fund Managers for the quarter to 1st October, 2022 to 31st December, 2022 and summarising the transactions of each Fund Manager and showing the market values of the Pension Fund.

The Sub-Committee and Board noted the information contained therein with regard to the performance of the Tayside Main Fund and their Fund Managers.

(c) QUARTERLY FUNDING REPORT AS AT 31ST DECEMBER, 2022

There was submitted Report No 102-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, reviewing the current funding level of the Fund as assessed by the Fund Actuary.

The Sub-Committee and Board noted the content of the report.

(d) SECURITIES LENDING 6 MONTH ACTIVITY TO 31ST DECEMBER, 2022

There was submitted Report No 103-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, presenting an update on Securities Lending activity for the period ended 31st December, 2022.

The Sub-Committee and Board noted the content of the report.

XX ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT MANDATE PROCUREMENT EXERCISE

There was submitted Report No 104-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, presenting a recommended plan to enable successful selection and appointment of a diversified markets manager for Tayside Pension Fund.

The Sub-Committee and Board:-

(i) noted the content of the report; and

(ii) approved delegation of authority to Officers to progress.

XXI ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW TO 31ST DECEMBER, 2022

There was submitted Report No 105-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, considering the Isio report Annual Review of Investment Performance 2022, completed in February, 2023.

The Sub-Committee and Board noted the content of the Isio report as detailed in Appendix A.

XI PRESENTATION

Sabriayah Denham and Jason Freeman from GSAM gave a short presentation to the Sub-Committee and Board.

After Ms Denham and Mr Freeman had given their presentation and answered questions from members, the Chair thanked the presenters on behalf of members of the Sub-Committee and Board.

Willie SAWERS, Chair.