Five years after its launch, the Boarder to Coast Pensions Partnership has announced that 83 per cent of the assets owned by its 11 partner funds have been pooled.
The UK’s largest local government scheme (LGPS) says that collective net savings from pooling are on track to reach £340m by 2030.
In total, nearly £50bn of assets are in pooled vehicles either operated directly, or overseen, byBorder to Coast.
The pool now has over 130 employees and more than 1.1million members.
Border to Coast’s investment strategies include a £12bn Private Markets programme which is investing over £4.3bn in infrastructure and £3bn in private equity.
In its latest annual report, the LGPS pool announced a new investment initiative aimed at delivering productive finance across the UK.
Productive finance
The new ‘UK Opportunities’ will be a multi-asset UK strategy investing in areas such as corporate financing, housing, property, infrastructure, renewables, and social bonds.
The nature of underlying investments could result in a range of positive impacts, including job creation, new housing (residential, affordable, social, assisted), new commercial floor space, delivery of local infrastructure, increased renewable energy capacity and the provision of training including apprenticeships.
Subject to consultation with partners, the UK Opportunities project will be launched in April 2024.
Chris Hitchen, chair of Border to Coast, said: “Five years into our journey, we are exceeding the original ambitions for pooling… We have been able to deliver over £65m of savings net of set up costs with more to come.”
Rachel Elwell, CEO at Border to Coast, added: “With our in-house investment team, we have built a range of innovative and high-quality investment propositions, and our £12bn Private Markets programme is delivering significant investment into growth capital and infrastructure.”
Research into value for money by asset management data company ClearGlass Analytics, ranked Border to Coast number one in its efficiency scheme index of over 1,000 schemes.
Border to Coast will be sharing how pooling can deliver innovative investment opportunities and support economic growth, with the government as part of its consultation on the future of the LGPS.
