LGPS on the rise, research shows

New research by the State Street Corporation has found that Local Authority Pension Funds (LGPS) are continuing to grow their assets and fund membership.

The study highlighted that between 2013 and 2015 the number of active LGPS members increased from around approximately 1.7 million people to 2.1 million.

Figures also showed a 31 per cent increase in contributions from local government and a six per cent increase from members.

Nick Wright, head of UK, Middle East, Africa, Netherlands and Nordics at State Street said LGPS, commented: “We can see that they are investing a lot of time and energy in ensuring they understand the operational and regulatory challenges ahead of them, and are developing strong strategies.”

The research also involved carrying out an additional survey of 400 pension professionals.

The findings showed that 40 per cent of respondents claimed it was getting harder to ensure they weren’t breaching local regulatory limits on exposure to specific asset classes.

More than 60 per cent reported looking to insource more risk management tasks to improve operations and efficiency levels, and 53 per cent said they intended to carry out more investment related functions in-house.

Over half said they were looking to increase the autonomy of their investment function, while 61 per cent said they intended to adjust the balance of responsibilities between their fund’s board and management.

Meanwhile 48 per cent said they were looking to change their process of recruiting new board members.

Andy Todd, head of UK pensions and banks, Asset Owner Solutions at State Street said: “As pension funds come under pressure to deliver better long-term returns to members at lower costs, it’s clear that pooling knowledge, as well as assets, is not solely a cost-saving measure, but also as an important means of developing new capabilities and opening up fresh opportunities.”