23.01.15
LGPS funds form £500m joint infrastructure partnership
The Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF) and the London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA) have formed a new partnership that will allocate up to £500m to invest in infrastructure opportunities.
The agreement will allow the local government pension funds of both cities to increase their investment in “much needed” UK infrastructure projects, delivering long-term returns that match their liabilities.
Over the next three or four years, the pension funds will seek to make investments in Greater Manchester and London and hold them over the appropriate period for each individual investment.
GMPF and LPFA added that there is a “high degree of flexibility” for suitable opportunities.
Cllr Kieran Quinn, chair of GMPF, said: “We are delighted to have formed this partnership alongside LPFA. In the UK we are only beginning to realise the potential for public pension funds to support the development of infrastructure projects, at the same time as delivering sustainable, high-quality returns to scheme members and employers.
“GMPF are long-standing investors in infrastructure and we look forwarded to using our
experience and knowledge to help build this into something of great value to the UK as a whole, with an initial focus on Greater Manchester and London, which are two key areas in driving growth.”
The partnership structure aligns with both funds’ responses to central government on the reform of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), which called for “closer collaboration between funds in order to realise the benefits of increased scale”.
Susan Martin, CEO of LPFA, added that to meet “our pensions liabilities we need a balanced portfolio that includes assets with a long-term profile. While at the same time by focusing on British infrastructure we are investing in an area that so badly needs it”.
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