The rationale for local authority pension fund investment decisions

Berry, Craig and Barber, Adam (2018) The rationale for local authority pension fund investment decisions. In: SPERI British Political Economy Brief. UNSPECIFIED. Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI).

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Abstract

This Brief assesses the rationale behind the strategic asset allocation of the UK’s largest local authority pension funds (LAPF) since the 2007/2008 financial crisis. The analysis builds directly upon that of our previous Brief, Local Authority Pension Fund Investment Since the Financial Crisis, which charted changes in the investment patterns of pension funds between 2005 and 2016. This Brief explores the basis of these changes, such as the move away from equity investment, and the partial move towards ‘alternative’ investments such as infrastructure. It also explores LAPF attitudes towards further ‘pooling’; that is, the agenda, first developed by the Cameron government, to merge LAPFs into a small number of ‘mega-funds’.