Kent County Council, Maidstone, England, on behalf of a pool of local government pension fund assets totaling £30 billion ($36.6 billion) called ACCESS, is conducting a presearch for third-party firms to provide investment management oversight and operate an authorized contractual scheme.
The ultimate search is expected to consist of two contracts, one for core and one for additional services, according to procurement website Tenders Electronic Daily. A Kent County Council spokeswoman was not available to comment by press time.
As part of the core services, the selected firm will be responsible for establishing and operating an authorized contractual scheme and other regulated and unregulated vehicles, performing regulatory compliance, establishing and administering a range of subfunds and providing oversight of investment managers.
Seventy-five percent of the pool's total assets are actively managed by 12 managers. The provider will report on their performance to the pool members and it might be required to supply stand-alone investment vehicles for the sole use of ACCESS. The second contract will include managing searches, assisting in transition activities, securing fee savings, advising on addition of subfunds, enhancing performance and risk reporting, as well as advising on rebalancing policies.
The announcement is available on TED. Proposals are due by Nov. 25.
ACCESS consists of Cambridgeshire County Council Pension Fund, Essex Pension Fund, Isle of Wight Council Pension Fund, Norfolk Pension Fund, Suffolk County Council Pension Fund, East Sussex County Council Pension Fund, Hampshire Pension Fund, Kent Pension Fund, Northamptonshire Pension Fund and West Sussex Pension Fund.
