London CIV, the collaborative venture established to pool investments of 33 London local authority pension funds, is marking its first anniversary.
Originally set up on a voluntary basis to enable the capital’s pension funds to work more closely together, it led the way for a much wider pooling of Local Government Pension Schemes across England and Wales under direction from central government and has reached its 12-month milestone.
Hugh Grover (pictured), chief executive of London CIV, says: “When it was created, London CIV was the first of its kind. The aim was to unlock potential for councils to access economies of scale and opportunities for investment that might not have been achievable for individual funds.
“We now have five sub-funds launched with GBP2.5 billion of assets under management. By the end of this financial year we aim to open another four funds taking assets under management close to GBP4 billion, delivering net annualised fee savings of more than GBP3.5 million.
“Being at the leading edge of pension fund pooling and delivering this scale of progress since launch is an enormous achievement by the London CIV team and our many colleagues across the London authorities, and something we should all be proud of.”
Cllr Claire Kober OBE, chair of London Councils, says: “When the concept of the CIV was first approved by London Councils’ Leaders’ Committee in 2014 some were undoubtedly sceptical that it would ever be delivered. Now, a year after launch and with every London authority involved, it’s a real example of pan-London collaboration at its best. I congratulate everyone on this remarkable achievement, which is already delivering benefits for the authorities, local tax payers and our pension fund members.”
