Six global custodians were selected for a preapproved list for several defined benefit pension plans in the £180 ($289.4 billion) Local Government Pension Scheme system.
The custodians are BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, BNP Paribas Securities Services, HSBC Securities Services, J.P. Morgan Investor Services, Northern Trust and State Street Bank and Trust, confirmed Nicola Mark, head of the £2.1 billion Norfolk County Council Pension Fund, Norwich, England, one of the pension funds in the LGPS.
The Norfolk plan conducted the search on behalf of the £1.9 billion Cambridgeshire County Council Pension Fund; £1.7 billion Suffolk County Council Pension Fund; £1.5 billion Northamptonshire County Council Local Government Pension Scheme; £1 billion London Borough of Hackney Superannuation Fund; and £700 million London Borough of Croydon Pension Fund.
The custodians also can be used by any of the approximately 100 funds within the LGPS in England as well as local pension schemes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Ms. Mark said.
The Norfolk plan chose to run the search on behalf of LGPS member pension funds to help reduce the time and cost for other LGPS plans by consolidating RFPs, as recommended by public pension reform two year ago, Ms. Mark said.
Executives at each member pension fund seeking a global custodian will hold shortlist searches among those on the preapproved list, Ms. Mark said, adding that 40 LGPS member plans already have shown an interest in doing so.
Norfolk led a similar national framework search for actuaries that ended in June 2012, with Aon Hewitt, Barnett Waddingham, Hymans Robertson and Mercer chosen for the LGPS list.
Northern Trust was global custodian for both Norfolk and Northamptonshire; BNY Mellon for Cambridgeshire and Croydon, and State Street for Suffolk and Hackney.
