The Barnet Pension Fund has reached a total value of £1.86 billion, exceeding its benchmark performance, according to a report presented to the Pension Fund Committee on Monday, March 16, 2026.
The fund's net assets saw an increase of £74.2 million over the year, bringing the total to £1.7 billion. Investment income contributed £8.2 million, with a further £84 million generated from the change in the value of investments. Management expenses, including embedded investment management fees, were reported at £18 million, a reduction of approximately £2 million from the previous year, primarily due to lower performance-related fees.
In the quarter ending December 31, 2025, the fund's portfolio outperformed its benchmark by 0.4%, achieving a net positive return of 3.1% against a benchmark of 2.7%. 
Despite the positive overall performance, the signed Annual Report and Accounts for 2024/25 received a disclaimer of opinion from auditors Grant Thornton. This was due to two main reasons: a historical issue with opening balances, as the previous year's accounts had also received a disclaimer of opinion due to the audits of the years 2021/22 to 2022/23 being left substantially incomplete by the previous auditors. Auditors are expecting that from the 2025/26 accounts onwards, they won't have to issue a disclaimer on opening balances. The second reason was an inability to conclude work on membership data relating to the 2022 triennial valuation before the deadline.
Auditors also noted that employer contributions were not specifically classified between normal and deficit contributions. Management is taking steps with the pension scheme administrators to rectify this classification discrepancy for future years, with an expected resolution for the 2025/26 accounts onwards. 
The full report can be found in the Public reports pack for the Pension Fund Committee meeting.
