Worcester Cathedral. The Worcestershire Pension Fund is one of LGPS Central's eight partner funds. Photo: iStock
Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pool LGPS Central has confirmed the launch of its global active investment grade credit sub-fund, as part of the continued development of its fixed income offering.
The pool's authorised contractual scheme fund has been developed to sit alongside LGPS Central's existing pooled credit funds – expanding the range of options and providing greater flexibility to access credit markets.
The fund will be managed in partnership with three global credit managers – Capital Group, J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Neuberger Berman.
LGPS Central said each manager had been appointed for their depth of experience across developed market investment grade credit and their ability to operate within LGPS Central's pooled framework.
LGPS Central already manages an actively managed investment grade credit fund with a significant sterling component, reflecting the need to see closer alignment with UK liabilities and domestic market exposure.
The new fund has been designed to complement this approach by providing access to a broader global investment grade universe, giving the pool the ability to tailor credit allocations more precisely to individual partner fund objectives.
Together, the two funds are intended to support different portfolio construction needs, with the additional sub-fund providing greater diversification across global issuers and sectors.
The availability of both funds will enable the pool to adopt a blended approach within their wider fixed income allocations, combining strategies as appropriate for each partner fund.
The new fund will sit within LGPS Central's established fixed income framework. The pool said active management will play a central role, reflecting the belief that disciplined security selection and risk management are essential to navigating credit markets through the cycle.
Chief investment officer Jayne Atkinson said: "By partnering with three experienced global credit managers within a single pooled structure, we are able to combine differentiated active approaches with consistent oversight, scale and governance, while continuing to maintain flexibility in how we access global credit markets on behalf of our partner funds."
LGPS Central's partner funds manage around £68bn in assets on behalf of over one million LGPS members and 2,946 participating employers. LGPS Central's partner funds are currently Cheshire Pension Fund, Derbyshire Pension Fund, Leicestershire County Council Pension Fund, Nottinghamshire Pension Fund, Shropshire County Pension Fund, Staffordshire Pension Fund, West Midlands Pension Fund and Worcestershire Pension Fund.
