Brunel Pension Partnership is making cost savings of £34m a year through pooling, according to its Annual Report & Financial Statements, two years ahead of its target of £27.8m a year by 2025.

The report stated that Brunel was saving almost four times the costs it incurs due to the management fees it negotiates.

According to Brunel, the target was exceeded through the efficiency of its approach to pooling and the negotiating power it gained from its work on responsible investment.

Brunel noted that although the targets on cost saving were set by itself, the broader ambitions to make cost savings while improving performance and enhancing investment in infrastructure were defined by the government.

The partnership is in the third cycle of its private market portfolios, which have targeted a range of infrastructure projects.

As at 30 September 2022, its infrastructure portfolios had £819m invested and had provided £6m of cost savings.

As part of its work on responsible investment, Brunel also launched the Cornwall Local Impact portfolio in the last reporting year, which it said is the first Local Government Pension Scheme multi-asset portfolio to target local impact.

According to the report, this allowed Brunel to negotiate mandates with two global managers, one for affordable housing and the other for renewables.

It also launched its Climate Stocktake last year, which enabled Brunel to publish its Climate Change Policy 2023-30.

“The twin challenges of transition finance and accelerating global change are enormous,” commented Brunel Pension Partnership CEO, Laura Chappell.

“By delivering on the goals set by our partnership, we will not just benefit our clients and their members.

“In the long term, we will demonstrate to the wider industry to our belief that responsible investment is indispensable to achieving healthy long-term returns.”

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