Brunel Pension Partnership Limited introduces its ACS operated by FundRock

Brunel Pension Partnership (Brunel) has successfully launched its Authorised Contractual Scheme (ACS), with its first sub-fund, for actively managed UK Equities. The Active UK Equity portfolio is worth c. £1.6 billion.

“We have appointed Invesco, Baillie Gifford and Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) to manage this sub-fund, within our ACS operated by FundRock,” says Mark Mansley, Chief Investment Officer at Brunel. “Our rigorous quantitative investment analysis revealed that these managers present the blend of complementary skills and methods that will best serve this sub-fund. Invesco is a systematic manager with excellent risk controls. Baillie Gifford and ASI are more conventional active managers able to add value over the medium to long-term, each through their own individual approach to stock selection.”

He adds: “We have carefully reviewed the correlation between the managers to ensure they provide genuine diversification, and believe this combination is particularly efficient. We expect the portfolio to meet our 2% outperformance target with modest overall risk and low costs. The managers’ approaches to stewardship and responsible investment were also key. “

FundRock is responsible for meeting regulatory requirements and risk management within the ACS, with Brunel responsible for overall investment management, which Brunel is then delegating to the selected managers. To read more about the appointment of FundRock, click here: https://bit.ly/2Oo88b3.

Since the appointment, Brunel and FundRock have been working closely together to obtain FCA authorisation for the ACS and establish the operating framework. “Our teamwork in creating the ACS has demonstrated for us that FundRock were the right choice and are partners we can truly collaborate with,” says Mark. “This is a major milestone for Brunel and our client funds.”

Dean Heaney, Head of UK Government & Strategic Institutions at Invesco, says: “We are delighted that Brunel have appointed Invesco to manage part of their UK equity portfolio. Our active multi-factor investment approach aims to deliver client outcomes that go beyond the limitations of traditional benchmark-centric active management. We look forward to building a long-term partnership with Brunel, its partner funds and their stakeholders."

Piers Lowson, Director of the Clients Department at Baillie Gifford & Co, says: “Baillie Gifford is delighted to have the opportunity to work with the Brunel Pension Partnership as co-manager of their UK Equity sub-fund. Our appointment underlines our organisations’ shared aims of generating value through responsible, long term investment management. We have worked successfully with Brunel’s clients for more than a decade and look forward to continuing this productive relationship. “

Euan Baird, Client Director at Aberdeen Investments, comments: “Brunel’s commitment to making long-term sustainable investments perfectly aligns with our own objectives. Our strength in UK equities has always been our style agnostic focus on company research. As a global investment house, we also take our responsibilities as an investor seriously with environmental, social and governance considerations embedded in our investment process and fully integrated in investment decision making. As a partner of choice, we look forward to building a collaborative relationship with Brunel that focuses on delivering for their underlying clients.”

The ACS launched on 19 November. Brunel were supported throughout the Active UK Equity sub-fund searches by Redington Investment Consultancy, with detailed manager analytics provided by Inalytics for UK equities.

We expect all the managers we appoint to sign up to the LGPS Code of Transparency or equivalent and are pleased that the managers appointed regarding these mandates are signatories of the Code.

Click here to read the full Press Release.