Research by UK-based real assets management firm Alpha Real Capital (ARC) has revealed 89% of Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) fund professionals in England and Wales intend to increase the local social investments allocations made by their pension schemes over the next few years. ARC, which has over £1 billion invested in social real estate, has noted that social real estate could be effective for pension funds looking to drive financial returns while having a positive social impact either regionally or nationally. ARC also asked the funds what their definition of local was, with 54% of respondents saying local was in their council area, 26% UK-wide and 20% within their pool. ARC’s Associate Director of Client Solutions Stuart Hanson said: “Our research shows clearly that LGPS funds are very much focused on increasing their level of local and social investing, and the impact of this could be huge. Indeed, if only 5% of LGPS funds’ combined assets were allocated to local investment, this would unlock as much as £16 billion for investment in assets that contribute towards positive social outcomes.”
LGPS funds plan to increase local social investing https://t.co/qePVS0ymUZ
— UK Political Watch (@UKGovAlert) June 7, 2022
