Overview

This section provides information about the investments of the Final Salary section of the Scheme, which are used to pay out members' benefits as they fall due.

There is traditionally a great deal of press coverage surrounding investment performance, particularly company shares. However, investment for the purpose of building up a pension fund is usually planned with a view to the long-term, rather than considering the short-term alone. This is particularly important when investing for benefits that are not due to come into payment for many years into the future, when the prospect of short-term fluctuations can be offset against sustained periods of long-term growth.

As pension investment is a complex process, the Trustee has appointed specialist investment managers to undertake the daily management of the Final Salary Section’s investments, as follows:

• The passively managed equities are managed by Legal & General.
• The property funds are managed by M&G (the investment management arm of Prudential), and Invesco.
• The DGFs are actively managed by Nordea, Ruffer and BNY Mellon.
• The Scheme’s LDI (Liability Driven Investment) funds are managed by CTI.
• The infrastructure investment is managed by IFM and JP Morgan.
• The asset backed security is managed by Aegon.

The Scheme’s investment adviser regularly reviews the investment managers appointed to invest the Scheme’s Final Salary Section’s assets on behalf of the Trustee. This review includes consideration of whether the specific managers and investment management styles remain appropriate for the Scheme, in the context of the long-term investment strategy.

In accordance with the Pensions Act 1995, the Trustee adopted a Statement of Investment Principles that is periodically reviewed. A copy of the latest Statement for the Final Salary section is available in the document library.