Brunel appoints Authorised Contractual Scheme Operator
Brunel Pension Partnership has appointed FundRock as its Authorised Contractual Scheme (ACS) Operator. “We felt that FundRock really understand our business and will excel at meeting our requirements,” says Joe Webster, Brunel’s Chief Operating Officer. “We’ve chosen to go for an ACS model for our investment management vehicle for around £7.5billion of actively managed equities because of the tax transparency this provides, and the fact it will make operations and transitions simpler, keeping costs lower.”
Structure and costs influenced Brunel’s decision in appointment of an Operator. “We chose FundRock because they offer the level of commitment and security we’re after, and value for money,” Webster says. “The model we’ve selected frees us up to focus on choosing quality managers and lets FundRock do what they are good at.”
Under the chosen model, Brunel acts as a Sponsor and Investment Manager of the ACS. The Operator we’ve selected are FundRock, who will be responsible for meeting regulation requirements and contractual arrangements. “The ACS delegates the fund management to us and we sub-delegate to our chosen fund managers,” Webster explains. “This model allows us a good degree of flexibility when choosing investment managers. The ACS also performs risk control, adding an additional level of governance and control over our transactions for clients. All in all, it’s a good decision for our shareholder client funds in the Brunel partnership.”
Revel Wood, CEO at FundRock says: “We are delighted to be embarking on a long-term partnership with the Brunel team, combining our strong heritage of fund governance and the innovation of Brunel to deliver a robust and efficient pension pooling solution.”
About FundRock
FundRock is a leading independent third party UCITS Management Company, AIFM (Alternative Investment Fund Manager), ACD (Authorised Corporate Director) and ACS (Authorised Contractual Scheme) Operator, providing services to funds domiciled in the UK, Ireland and Luxembourg.
FundRock provides substance through solid Risk management, Oversight and Compliance functions supplemented by years of acquired Knowledge delivered by a multinational team of around 100 industry professionals. With a strong local presence in each of Europe’s key fund centres, the firm’s team speak over 20 languages and have a proven track record partnering with asset managers to help them achieve their ambitions.
About Brunel Pension Partnership
Brunel Pension Partnership (Brunel) brings together £30 billion investments of 10 likeminded Local Government Pensions Scheme funds. We believe in making long term sustainable investments supported by robust and transparent process. We are here to protect the interests of our clients and their members. In collaboration with all our stakeholders we are forging better futures by investing for a world worth living in.
Brunel is one of eight national LGPS pools, and will manage investment of the pension assets for the funds of Avon, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Environment Agency, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, and Wiltshire.