The Bromley Pension Fund is approaching a significant milestone, with its value nearing £1.5 billion, according to a report presented at the Pensions Committee meeting on 28 May 2025. The market value of the Fund ended the March quarter at £1,479.5m, an increase of £46.7m from 31 March 2024. The rise in the value of the Fund over the quarter was driven by the release of cash into the Fund as part of the purchase of the Fidelity UK Property fund rather than by the investment return over the quarter.
As at 30 June 2025, the fund served 6,909 active members, 1,110 undecided leavers, 6,773 deferred pensioners, 5,666 pensioners and 737 widow/dependents.
The committee reviewed the fund's performance and strategic asset allocation, discussing potential adjustments to its investment approach. The current asset allocation strategy has amended the allocations as follows: Equities (58%), Multi Asset Income Funds (20%), Fixed Income (13%), UK Real Estate (4%) and International Property (5%). The Senior Advisor: Apex Group Ltd recommended that the weight given to multi-asset income funds in the strategic asset allocation be lowered from 20% to 15%, which the Committee supported.
The Pensions Committee also considered whether the Bromley Pension Fund should transition its investment with MFS to the London Collective Investment Vehicle (LCIV) for investment into the Wellington-managed fund. However, the Senior Advisor: Apex Group Ltd recommended against this. The Senior Advisor: Apex Group Ltd also recommended that the Committee consider hedging 50% of the Fund's strategic asset allocation weighting to global equities back into sterling, but the Committee decided not to commit to hedging in advance of the strategic asset allocation review.
The Bromley Council Local Pension Board met on 29 July 2025 to discuss these issues, as well as the Performance Monitoring Report 2025-26 Year to Date and the Pension Fund Risk Register.
Some of the key risks identified in the Pension Fund Risk Register include: Poor Investment Performance, Actuarial Risk, Insufficient Cash, Sub-funds of London CIV Fail to Perform, Pension Contribution, Cost Control, Fraud Risk, Knowledge and Experience, Climate Change, Regulatory Changes, Mandatory Pooling, Legal, Conflict of Interest, Adequate Level of Administration Officer Knowledge and Skills, Employers' Data Inaccurate, Cyber Risk, External Audit Non Performance, Pension Scams, and Operational Disaster. The risk register outlines control measures to manage or eliminate these risks.
For the year to 31st March 2024, the overall Fund ranked 38th against the 63 funds in the PIRC LGPS universe, 94th over 3 years, 26th over 5 years, and second over 10 years, 20 years and 30 years.