LGPS assets reach £212 billion

According to figures compiled by The Pension Funds Performance Guide, the publishers of LAPF Investments, the total assets under management (AUM) for the local government pension scheme (LGPS) reached £212.9 billion in 2013, up 13.7% on the figure for 2012.

The figures show equities are the largest component of the total AUM at £112.8 billion. Looking back over 10 years of data, the figures show that LGPS assets have more than doubled from £99.7 billion in 2004. Assets rose steadily to £151.4 billion in 2008, before the impact of the global financial crisis led to a fall of almost 20% in AUM to £122.4 billion in 2009. Hover 2010 saw a strong rebound of 36.7% to £167.3 billion, with further smaller increases in 2011 and 2012.

In terms of asset class performance, the figures show that equity performance has been highly volatile, with large increases in 2010 (44.5%) and 2006 (26.6%) but a 25% fall in 2009. Apart from a 13.1% fall in 2009, fixed income performance has been reliable, between 9.1% in 2007 and 19.2% in 2011. Property saw two down years in 2008 and 2009, but otherwise performed well, while fixed income performance was also generally good apart from a 14.6% fall in 2009.