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London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham Pension Fund
Hammersmith & Fulham Pension Fund pools £1.4B via the London CIV and makes direct UK real-asset commitments.
London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham Pension Fund
The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham Pension Fund operates as part of the national Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), providing defined-benefit retirement coverage to eligible council employees. Karen Shackleton, founder of the industry network Pensions for Purpose, chairs the fund's Pension Board, which oversees governance and administration. Day-to-day benefit administration is delegated to Local Pensions Partnership Administration (LPPA), separating operational execution from the committee's investment oversight. The fund pursues a bifurcated strategy: a majority allocation flows into the London Collective Investment Vehicle (London CIV), a regulated asset pool that executes investments on behalf of participating London boroughs, while a distinct sleeve targets direct UK real assets. This direct-property and infrastructure portfolio holds positions in the abrdn Long Lease Property Fund, the Alpha Real Capital Index Linked Income Fund, and the Partners Group Direct Infrastructure Fund. The geographic concentration skews heavily toward the United Kingdom, with only the Partners Group and Quinbrook mandates extending to a global remit. The London CIV alignment means the fund's public-market and diversified-private-market exposure is structured at the pool level, with Hammersmith & Fulham acting as a shareholder and client, not a standalone allocator. The fund maintains active memberships in the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF), which coordinates shareholder engagement on ESG issues, and Pensions for Purpose, a network focused on impact investing. No dedicated in-house investment team size is disclosed, reflecting the heavy reliance on the London CIV and external managers for portfolio construction. In May 2024, the Pension Fund Committee approved its 2024/25 budget, confirming continued outsourcing of core administration to LPPA while maintaining oversight of the direct-property portfolio and CIV participation. The fund's architecture is defined by its pooled-operating model. Rather than building a large internal investment team or hiring a traditional OCIO, Hammersmith & Fulham delegates the bulk of its strategic asset allocation to the London CIV — effectively a collective manager for the capital's boroughs. The remaining direct mandates serve a targeted, UK-centric real-asset objective that the pool may not address as precisely, giving the committee a limited but focused direct-investment voice.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
—
AUM
$1.5B - $2.0B (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
Europe
Country
United Kingdom
City
London
Corporate office
London, United Kingdom
Principals
Ross Melton
Chair of the Pension Fund Committee
Karen Shackleton
Chair of the Pension Board
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham Pension Fund?
The Pension Fund Committee, chaired by Councillor Ross Melton, makes the key investment decisions. The Pension Board, chaired by Karen Shackleton, is responsible for governance and assisting the administering authority in securing compliance with regulations. The fund does not publish a named list of internal investment professionals, as day-to-day administration is outsourced to Local Pensions Partnership Administration (LPPA).
How does the fund access private markets and alternative investments?
The fund uses two principal channels. Approximately 60-70% of its assets are pooled through the London Collective Investment Vehicle (London CIV), an FCA-regulated asset pool for London LGPS funds that covers both public and private markets. The remainder is deployed in a direct portfolio of UK-focused property and infrastructure funds, including mandates with Man GPM, abrdn, Partners Group, and Quinbrook.
How is the fund related to the London Collective Investment Vehicle (London CIV)?
The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham is a shareholder and participating authority in the London CIV, one of eight national LGPS pools established by the UK government. The CIV builds and manages investment sub-funds for its 32 London-borough stakeholders. Hammersmith & Fulham uses the CIV as its primary investment platform, meaning the majority of its asset allocation decisions are implemented through CIV sub-funds rather than through a separate internal trading desk.
What is the fund's specific exposure to real estate and infrastructure?
The fund maintains a separate direct portfolio of UK real assets alongside its CIV holdings. Known commitments include the abrdn Long Lease Property Fund (commercial), the Alpha Real Capital Index Linked Income Fund (mixed-use/ground rents), the Man GPM Affordable Housing Fund (residential), the Darwin Alternatives Leisure Fund (mixed-use), and the Quinbrook Renewable Infrastructure Fund alongside the Partners Group Direct Infrastructure Fund, both of which extend the fund's infrastructure exposure beyond the UK.
Does the fund engage on ESG and stewardship issues?
Yes, the fund takes a collaborative approach to stewardship. It is a member of the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF), which coordinates shareholder engagement on corporate governance and ESG resolutions across UK pension funds. Karen Shackleton, the Chair of the Pension Board, also founded Pensions for Purpose, a network that advocates for impact investing and transparency in institutional portfolios.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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