First anniversary

‘Understand your client’ workshop

We had a great group attending our ‘Understand your client’ workshop in February. They embraced our exercises with gusto, learnt how to think about their clients’ chickens and took to our tactics versus strategy game with gusto.

 We enjoyed showing them how relationships with UK institutional clients have evolved over the past two decades and what they should be doing today to build partnerships in the future.

 While the UK institutional market continues to evolve and remains complex and fragmented, there are great opportunities for asset managers. The erosion of the role of the investment consultant means asset managers – for the first time ever – can build long-term partnerships with asset owners.

‘Implications of LGPS reforms’ networking event

We had our best ever turn out to a networking event on 3 March when 70 people came along to to discuss the implications of the ‘Fit for the Future’ LGPS reforms.

It was such a popular event that a third of you had to stand up to fit into the room! You were a great audience laughing at Charlotte’s and the panellists’ jokes and asking excellent questions.

A particularly warm thanks to those panellists – Jenny Buck, CIO of London LGPS CIV Limited, Joe McDonnell, CIO at Border To Coast Pensions Partnership, Richard Tomlinson, CIO of LPP and Tony English, head of LGPS Investment at Mercer. They shared candid insights with great humour making it an inspiring and fun evening.

‘How pools are implementing fit for future reforms’ article

How are LGPS pools coping with adding partner funds, transitioning funds and providing advice? That’s the question my latest article for Professional Pensions looks to answer.

The disbanding of Access and the Brunel Pensions Partnership mean the six remaining pools have to take on many additional funds with assets needing to be transitioned. Portfolios also need to be mapped across to the government’s nine different asset classes.

In addition, pools need to become the principal providers of investment advice – in other words, replacing their partner funds’ existing investment consultants.

 These changes must all be delivered to a tight deadline.

 Thanks to Richard Tomlinson, Trevor Castledine and Andrien Meyers for taking the time to chat and share their insights.

‘Shape policy or suffer it’ event with Untamed Consulting

Fifty people attended Moore Squared Communications and Untamed Consulting’s ‘Shape policy or suffer it’ fringe event at Pensions UK’s investment conference up in Edinburgh. It was a great event with the panellists – Darren Philp, Paul Maynard and Charlotte O’Leary sharing candid insights and explaining why policy cannot be ignored in our highlly regulated sector.