London Borough of Barnet Pension Fund

Barnet pools its assets with 31 other London boroughs through the London Collective Investment Vehicle (LCIV), an FCA-authorized fund structure. The LCIV creates sub-funds for asset classes including infrastructure, private debt, and equities, allowing Barnet to negotiate lower fees and gain access to institutional share classes that would be unavailable to it as a standalone entity.

The fund holds positions in pooled commercial property funds including the CBRE Global Alpha Property Fund, abrdn Long Lease Property Fund, and Fiera Real Estate Opportunity Fund V. Infrastructure commitments run through the IFM Global Infrastructure fund and the LCIV Renewables Infrastructure vehicle, targeting core and core-plus risk profiles across UK, European, and global markets.

Cllr Simon Radford serves as Chair of the Barnet Pension Fund Committee, which includes elected councillors and pensioner representatives. The committee is responsible for strategic asset allocation, while the treasury and pensions team, led by Head of Pensions and Treasury David Spreckley, handles operational implementation and liaison with the LCIV.

Yes. Secondaries are a stated strategic focus, providing the fund with exposure to mature private equity and infrastructure assets at discounts to net asset value, often with shorter durations to realization. This strategy can smooth J-curve effects and provide tactical liquidity within the private markets allocation.

Barnet is a member of the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF), which coordinates shareholder engagement and voting policy on behalf of UK public pension funds. The LCIV also integrates responsible investment principles into its fund selection and monitoring, giving Barnet both pooled engagement leverage and committee-level oversight on ESG matters.

The London CIV acts as a regulated investment manager for Barnet, creating and managing pooled sub-funds into which Barnet invests. The CIV is governed by a board that includes representatives from member boroughs, and Barnet holds shareholder voting rights proportionate to its investment in each sub-fund, combining operational centralization with local democratic accountability.

The funding level fluctuates with actuarial valuations and market movements. As a member of the LGPS, Barnet benefits from statutory employer contribution backstops, making its credit profile fundamentally different from a corporate plan. The most recent triennial valuation data is published by the fund and reviewed by the Pension Fund Committee annually.