Camden's Pension Board is considering divesting from Harris Associates, the fund's active global equity value manager, following concerns about the fund's performance and changes within the investment team. The potential move, affecting approximately £105 million (c. 5% of total Fund assets) as of 30 June 2025, was discussed at the Pension Board meeting on 5 November 2025, as part of a broader review of the pension fund's investment strategy.
The Pension Committee Update Report, presented to the board, included an Active Global Equity (Value) Transition Proposal, which summarised independent investment reviews by Isio and LCIV (London Collective Investment Vehicle) regarding Harris Associates' Global Equity Fund. The proposal suggests shifting assets to the LCIV Global Equity Value Fund, managed by Wellington Management. At this stage, it is difficult to quantify transactions costs in advance. However, London CIV will assist LB Camden to mitigate this cost by working closely with Wellington Asset Management to understand whether any existing positions could be taken in specie and therefore would not need to be traded.
According to the Isio Equity Portfolio Review and Recommendation, Isio does not recommend that the Camden Fund remain invested in the Harris Value Fund over the long term
. The report cited concerns about Harris Associates' recent performance compared to its peers. Specifically, Harris has underperformed the MSCI ACWI benchmark over 1-, 3- and 5-year periods, driven by sectoral concentration and stock selection in financials and consumer discretionary holdings. Rolling three-year excess returns have remained negative, with limited evidence of near-term recovery relative to peers.
Concerns were also raised regarding changes within Harris Associates' investment team. The strategy has lost two portfolio managers over the last 18 months. Firstly, Clyde McGregor, who had a key role on the US portfolio of the global mandate, retired at the end of 2023. Colin Hudson and John Sitarz were added as co-managers at the time. Non US-manager Jason Long also departed the firm in September 2024, with Eric Liu replacing him. Furthermore, David Herro, a current non-US portfolio manager on the strategy, is in the advanced stages of his career and is gradually ceding responsibilities to other teammates. As a result, Tony Coniaris was just appointed Co-Chief Investment Officer of International Equities alongside Herro.
The LCIV Active Value Allocation Review Summary also factored into the decision. The LCIV Global Equity Value Fund (Wellington) offers a disciplined value approach that is diversified across regions and sectors, mitigating the style drift and concentration issues evident in the Harris portfolio.
Councillor Camron Aref-Adib, Cabinet Member for Finance and Cost of Living, chaired the meeting, which was also attended by Ashleigh Calf and Vinothan Sangarapillai.
The outcome of the Committees decision was not known at the time of this reporting but will be contained in the minutes that follow.
