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Local Government Pension Scheme Investment
Thank you for contacting me about local government pension scheme investments.
I believe that local government pension fund assets should be invested in a way that provides excellent value for money for taxpayers and scheme members alike. That’s why I support the amalgamation of local government pension assets into 6 British Wealth Funds. Investing collectively could save up to £660m through economies of scale that the existing 89 separately managed funds cannot achieve.
With £178 billion under management, the local government pension scheme is one of the largest funded pension schemes in Europe and I believe it is right that it should follow international norms. In countries with larger pooled public pension funds, up to 8 per cent of assets are infrastructure and 17 per cent are housing and infrastructure. Currently only 0.5 per cent is invested in such projects.
I am pleased the Government issued guidance alongside the Autumn Statement that made it clear that authorities should be more ambitious in their infrastructure investment and compare themselves with the example set by the leading global pension fund investors.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
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