Published: February 21, 2024

It is expected that the new manager will be funded in mid-2024 with a total value expected to be around £600m. It is important to note that the Sub-Fund has Responsible Investment (RI) Integrated Status. Applicants will therefore be expected to demonstrate that responsible investment is fully integrated into the day-to-day management of their portfolios. The successful strategy will be added to the existing sub-fund of the Authorised Contractual Scheme (ACS).

LGPS Central is looking for Sterling Credit managers that already have a minimum of £3bn of external client money invested on 31 December 2023 with at least a three-year track record in managing a Sterling Buy and Maintain Investment Grade Credit strategy submitted for this procurement. LGPS Central is looking for managers, which utilise a fundamental rather than quantitative approach, with evidence of strong performance and the ability to build a portfolio of robust good quality Investment Grade Credit that will generate long term performance whilst avoiding defaults.

The benchmark used will be ICE BofA Sterling Non-Gilts Index (tracking the performance of sterling denominated investment grade corporate debt publicly issued in the UK domestic credit market) and will exclude emerging markets and supranationals.

Investment Director for Fixed Income at LGPS Central, Ann-Marie Patterson, said, ‘As we’ve seen across the LGPS, our clients are looking to de-risk their investment strategies, with an increase in investment in fixed income products. Introducing the new buy & maintain fund further enriches our fund portfolio in this arena, empowering investors with increased flexibility to execute their desired strategies effectively’.

To participate in the procurement, potential managers must first be registered as a supplier in the In-tend system. More information can be found by clicking the following link: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/lgpscentral