The Northern local government pension scheme, which manages more than £70 billion in assets, has named Elizabeth Renshaw-Ames as the incoming chair and Paras Anand as the new CEO.
Renshaw-Ames joins from Aviva Master Trust, and was previously non-executive Chair of Barnett Waddingham and chief executive of the HSBC Bank (UK) Pension Trust. She is expected to bring substantial senior governance, asset management and large pension scheme experience to the role, having a track record of leading complex, large-scale organisations across professional services and financial sectors.
Previously, Anand was chief investment officer at Artemis Investment Management managing £30 billion in client assets. Prior to this, he held multiple investment roles including CIO for Asia Pacific at Fidelity International, overseeing investment functions across the region, including Japan and China, responsible for over $250 billion in client assets.
LGPS Northern will oversee the investment management activity from three existing partner funds – the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, Merseyside Pension Fund, and West Yorkshire Pension Fund, under a single governed structure, a requirement of new Government reforms into Local Government Pension Schemes.
The reforms will allow the Pool to seek FCA-authorisation, critical to the scheme’s survival in light of the government’s LGPS consolidation drive, and will seek to drive better value for members.
Renshaw-Ames says: “LGPS Northern has delivered consistent investment returns, significant savings and sustained investment into the UK economy over the past decade.
“My priority will be to ensure that it will continue to build on those foundations with the governance, financial discipline and strategic clarity that an organisation of this scale and responsibility demands, particularly in this changing regulatory landscape.”
LGPS Northern represents approximately one fifth of total LGPS assets in England and Wales.