London Pensions Fund Authority names acting Chairman

The LPFA recently announced its intention to move forward with a £10bn partnership with Lancashire County Pension Fund, which will initially be known as the Lancashire and London Pensions Partnership (LLPP).

Commenting on the announcement, LPFA Chief Executive, Susan Martin said: “As the LPFA moves forward with its various partnerships including with Lancashire County and Greater Manchester Pension Funds, Sir Merrick’s skills and leadership are of great importance. He will continue to lead our discussions with Lancashire and other Local Government Funds and push for collaboration across the sector.”

Sir Merrick has unrivalled knowledge of local government and infrastructure funding, having been appointed earlier in the year as Chairman of the UK Municipal Bonds Agency, an initiative formed by local government to assist with raising capital cost effectively. He was also recently named as the Chair of the Crossrail2 Growth Commission.

Speaking about the future direction of the LPFA and his role, Sir Merrick said: “It’s an exciting time to be leading LPFA as we are take the unprecedented step of pooling two of the largest pension funds in local government. As joint shareholders with Lancashire in the LLPP we have been working closely together on every facet of its development and we expect this to continue going forward.”

The formation of the LLPP is well underway, with the process of appointing an Independent Chair and Non-­?Executive Directors to its Board in advanced stages.

The LPFA and Lancashire Country Pension Fund also recently announced the creation of a Strategic Investment Advisory Board that will report in to the investment function of the LLPP.