By Richard Johnstone | 18 December 2013
London boroughs have agreed a plan to merge £20bn of pension fund assets into a singe investment vehicle in a bid to cut costs and improve investment returns.
The London Councils umbrella group of authorities announced this week the collaboration plan had been agreed by the leaders of all 32 boroughs in the capital, as well as the City of London.
The common investment vehicle is intended to reduce administration costs and increasing return on investment through greater scale.
London Councils chair Jules Pipe said the individual funds currently deliver good performance, but face volatile asset performance and increasing liabilities.
‘This development could benefit all Londoners by reducing the cost of local government pensions, potentially increasing returns on investment and opening up the possibility of more investment in infrastructure,’ he said.
‘Unlike many other proposals to reform public sector pensions, we can start work on this now as it does not require complex legislative change.’
