BORDER TO COAST PENSIONS PARTNERSHIP APPOINTS EXTERNAL ASSET MANAGERS FOR ITS STERLING INVESTMENT GRADE CREDIT FUND

Leeds, 26 September 2019, Border to Coast Pensions Partnership (“Border to Coast”), one of the largest UK public sector pension pools in the UK whose assets total c. £45 billion, announces the appointment of Royal London Asset Management, M&G Investment Management and Insight Investment as its external asset managers in a Sterling Investment Grade Credit Fund expected to total over £2bn at launch.

Border to Coast is delighted to announce the appointment of Royal London Asset Management, M&G Investment Management and Insight Investment as external managers to the Border to Coast Sterling Investment Grade Credit Fund. Subject to FCA approval, the Fund is scheduled to launch in early 2020 with assets of over £2bn.

The appointments follow an extensive manager selection exercise undertaken by Border to Coast, with support from Mercer. 25 asset management firms submitted proposals which were scored for technical quality, value for money and complementarity of fit.

Rachel Elwell, CEO of Border to Coast, said “We are delighted to be launching the first in a series of fixed income funds to support our Partner Funds in implementing their strategic asset allocations. We were particularly pleased with the way the asset management industry responded to the challenges we made to deliver innovative and value for money mandates, and we believe that the selected managers will contribute strongly to our purpose of making a difference to investment outcomes for the LGPS.”

Andrew Carter, CEO of Royal London Asset Management, said, “RLAM is delighted to have been selected to co‐manage Border to Coast’s Sterling Investment Grade Credit Fund. We believe that this is an important stage in the development of local authority pools and look forward to building a long‐ term partnership with Border to Coast to help deliver benefits for their underlying LGPS funds. As a mutual, our values and long‐term investment approach are closely aligned to local authority needs.”

Adrian Grey, Global CIO at Insight Investment, said: “Insight is very proud to have been chosen as a manager for the Sterling Investment Grade Credit Fund and looks forward to partnering with Border to Coast. We will be applying our Buy and Maintain strategy, an approach which seeks long‐term value in credit markets and is aligned to Border to Coast’s focus on environmental, social and governance principles.”

Jenny Williams, Head of Institutional Public Debt at M&G, said, “We are delighted to have been selected as a partner to Border to Coast. We look forward to building a long‐term relationship and delivering excellent returns to assist Border to Coast and their Partner Funds to pay their members’ pensions.”