The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) has named Councillor Kieran Quinn as its new chairman. Quinn, who chairs the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, takes over from West Yorkshire Pension Fund chairman Ian Greenwood as head of the LAPFF executive.
What are your main priorities for the role?
I want to make sure that the LAPFF continues to act as the voice of local government pension funds in terms of their ownership interest in companies. In turn companies will be able to expect a consistent approach from LAPFF, we will push for change where we think this is required, but we will do so constructively and we will always be vocal in support of good practice. I think our high-profile engagements with Marks & Spencer and News Corp are good examples of how you can expect to see the Forum operate in future. This year you’ll see LAPFF having more to say about executive pay and about audit and accounting issues.
What is the main issue for local authority schemes in the year ahead?
There is no single issue to highlight, but obviously changes to the LGPS are on the minds of many funds, along with the day-to-day focus on the funding of individual schemes. In terms of investments, obviously there is continued interest in pension fund investment in infrastructure, and other ways of contributing to economic growth. LAPFF has already put a marker down here with the publication of our Investing For Growth report with the Smith Institute last year. We are now thinking about how to take this element of our work forward.
What are local authority pension scheme members’ biggest concerns?
Probably most members just want to be reassured that the scheme will be in good shape in the future and affordable for them to remain members of. In terms of LAPFF’s role, we do find that members are increasingly interested in how the funds invest, and want to know that this is being undertaken in a responsible way.
What do you so in your spare time that might translate into your career?
What spare time I have is divided. I try to give my family a large portion of any spare time I have but it can be a challenge, especially at weekends when I have to carry out the weekly animal chores that cannot be missed. My main relaxant (other than the odd tipple) is reading and I use any spare time to catch up on any interesting articles I’ve missed or catch a few more pages of my latest novel. I’ll let others decide how that translates to my day job but it’s helped me to acquire and carry out the roles I hold.
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