Investment Performance

The Fund's performance figures are as at 31 March 2020.

Over the year, the Fund’s assets delivered a total return of +1.8%, outperforming its “policy portfolio” (an aggregate benchmark return comprised of each asset classes’ target return) by over 2%. However, the portfolio’s total return lagged the “actuarial benchmark / discount rate” (the rate that The Fund’s liabilities are assumed to grow at) by a similar margin.

The value of the Fund’s investment assets at 31 March 2020 was £8,321 million, (2019: £8,327 million).

2019/20 was a challenging year for asset returns, due to the market volatility and unprecedented levels of economic uncertainty caused by Covid-19 during the final quarter of the financial year, and into 2020/21. The impact of the pandemic on the worldwide economy and on the Fund’s investment portfolio is expected to continue for a significant period of time.

Despite these conditions, private equity was by the far the standout contributor with returns in excess of 25%, while the Fund’s public equity allocation demonstrated its defensive and quality characteristics by outperforming relative to its benchmark.

Longer-term (over a 3-year or 5-year horizon) the Fund’s returns have been strong, comfortably outpacing both its actuarial benchmark and its policy portfolio.