Brunel picks high alpha equity managers

Brunel Pension Partnership has awarded mandates to five managers for its global high alpha sub-fund.

“We regard global high alpha equities as one of our pivotal products. Brunel’s listed markets team has designed a world-class portfolio and selected the ideal balance of management styles to accomplish it,” said Matt Betts, senior investment officer at Brunel.

A total of 110 strategies were meticulously evaluated as part of the full and in-depth search process. The pool has appointed AllianceBernstein, Baillie Gifford, Fiera Capital, Harris Associates and Royal London Asset Management.

“We particularly like dynamic managers who will truly engage with us, and we believe that these managers comprise an effective combination that we hope to see deliver the long-term returns sought by our clients,” Betts added.

All five selected managers demonstrated a research-driven, fundamental bottom-up approach differentiated by style and potential excess return profiles. “Collectively, the managers use a range of different specialist approaches to selecting global companies that they expect to outperform the market in the long term,” Betts continued. “They achieve this by focusing on an array of fundamental characteristics, employing tried and tested processes alongside innovative thinking that delivers consistent return profiles.”

The global high alpha portfolio size will initially be £2.6 billion, to be allocated between the five managers. The sub-fund is delivered through the ACS platform developed in conjunction with FundRock. Brunel was assisted in the search by consultants Redington and Inalytics.

Brunel brings together around £30 billion in investments from 10 Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds. Its focus remains on making long-term sustainable investments supported by robust and transparent process. Brunel is one of eight national LGPS pools and manages the investment of the pension assets for the funds of Avon, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Environment Agency, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire.