The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Pension Fund’s recently published Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2025 details significant portfolio rebalancing and an increased commitment to pooled investments.
Strategic Asset Allocation Shift
For the fiscal year 2024/25, the Pension Fund rebalanced its portfolio to address an increasing overweight position in equities and align with its strategic range. Equities holdings were reduced by £90 million, taken evenly from Columbia Threadneedle, Fidelity, and LGIM Future World fund. Of this amount, £65 million was invested into the LGIM Index Linked gilts fund, which is under LCIV pooled management, and the remaining £25 million was invested into the LCIV Multi Asset Credit Fund. This rebalancing increased the total of pooled investments to just under 58% (page 19).
New Allocations to Impact and Multi-Asset Credit
During 2024/25, the Panel agreed to new allocations to Impact funds, specifically the LCIV Housing Fund and the LCIV London Fund. There was also an increased allocation to the LCIV Global Bond Fund and the LCIV Multi Asset Credit Fund. These new allocations were funded by reducing the Fund’s investments in Diversified Growth Funds and Equities (page 22).
Increased Pooled Investment with London CIV
As of 31 March 2025, the Fund had £508.9 million (39.4%) of investment assets pooled via the London CIV and £237.9 million (18.4%) of investment assets under pooled management where oversight and/or selection responsibility lies with the pool. This totals 57.8% of investments pooled or deemed pooled with the London Collective Investment Vehicle, an increase from 50.5% in the prior fiscal year (page 29, 75). The Fund aims to transfer all assets to its respective pools by 31 March 2026, with the majority of remaining assets being equity holdings (page 4).
Manager Appointments and Allocations
For the fiscal year 2024/25, the Fund made specific manager appointments and allocations. £65 million was invested into the LGIM Index Linked gilts fund, and £25 million was invested into the LCIV Multi Asset Credit Fund (page 19). The LCIV Housing Fund received a new allocation, increasing its market value from £150,000 in 2023/24 to £19,418,000 in 2024/25. The LCIV London Fund also saw an increased allocation, with its market value rising from £9,954,000 to £12,248,000 during the same period (page 22, 75). The LCIV Global Bond Fund (PIMCO) increased its market value from £138,480,000 to £146,211,000, and the LCIV Multi Asset Credit Fund (CQS & PIMCO) increased from £114,995,000 to £148,970,000 (page 22, 75).
Responsible Investment Policy Update
Following a training and engagement session in September 2024, an updated Responsible Investment (RI) Policy was produced. This revised policy sets out clearer beliefs and objectives, strengthens the approach to climate change through the introduction of 2030 carbon reduction targets, and outlines the Fund’s enhanced adoption of UN Sustainable Development Goals and its objectives on Impact Investing (page 5, 34).
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