Pension fund investments

How and where the Oxfordshire Pension Fund is invested.

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Brunel pension partnership

In response to government pooling requirements, the Oxfordshire Pension Fund is part of a pool with nine other Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds which set up an investment management company, The Brunel Pension Partnership.  

The company is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as a full-service MiFID firm. The partnership is one of eight national LGPS investment pools across the UK and brings together c. £35 billion of investments, on behalf of:

  • Avon
  • Buckinghamshire
  • Cornwall
  • Devon
  • Dorset
  • Environment Agency
  • Gloucestershire
  • Oxfordshire
  • Somerset
  • Wiltshire. 

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Strategy and policy documents

The pension fund has produced an Investment Strategy Statement (ISS) (pdf format, 170Kb), as LGPS Regulations require.This statement sets out the fund’s high-level investment approach, including investment objectives and managing investment risks. The ISS is kept under regular review and revised at least every three years to tie in with the triennial actuarial valuation of the fund. 

In recognition of the importance of climate change to the long-term performance of the fund’s investments a Climate Change Policy  - June 2020 (pdf format, 168Kb) was developed. In addition, the fund produced an Implementation Plan (pdf format, 84Kb) setting out the actions it would seek to take to achieve the policy goals.

In 2024 the Fund published its first full Responsible Investment Policy (pdf format, 552KB) which outlines the Fund’s approach to being a sustainable investor, including priorities and objectives.

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Investment holdings and voting activity

The fund aims to be transparent about its investments.

Holdings for the latest available quarter

The documents below detail the direct holdings of the fund and underlying investments in pooled funds.

Voting activity

Being a shareholder in a company entitles an investor to cast votes at company meetings and exercise oversight on the way in which companies are managed. The documents below show details of voting activity undertaken on the fund’s behalf.

Further details on the Fund’s approach to voting are included in the Fund’s Responsible Investment Policy and Investment Strategy Statement. Details of voting activity undertaken by Brunel are available on their website.

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Responsible investment

The Pension Fund’s Responsible Investment Policy (pdf format, 552KB) sets out its approach to being a responsible investor. The fund provides annual updates on responsible investment activities undertaken, either directly, in its Stewardship Code Report (pdf format, 1.2MB) or through the  Brunel Partnership. 

Responsible investment principles are at the foundation of the fund’s approach to stewardship and underpin the fund's fulfilment of its fiduciary duty to scheme beneficiaries.

In October 2023 a Responsible Investment survey was sent to all members of the Oxfordshire Pension Fund Scheme where an email address is held by Pension Services. The survey was also cascaded through employers and newsletters. There was an excellent response, with 4,026 people filling out the survey. 

The aim was to collect feedback from members on their views about Responsible Investment with an emphasis on understanding what member priorities are in this area.

The Oxfordshire Pension Fund Responsible Investment member survey 2023 (pdf format, 1.7 MB) outlines the key findings from the member responses. The information from this survey then fed into the development of the Responsible Investment policy. 

The fund is a signatory to the UK Stewardship Code. The Code sets high standards of stewardship for those investing money on behalf of UK savers and pensioners. Becoming a signatory is a recognition of the work the fund has undertaken in recent years to become a responsible investor. Our Stewardship Code Report (pdf format, 726Kb) shows how we meet the requirements to become a signatory.

The fund sits on the Responsible Investment Sub-group at Brunel where a wide range of responsible investment topics are discussed between the client funds and Brunel and its providers. In addition, the fund attends cross-pool responsible investment group meetings where best practice is shared between pools and funds.

Member of groups

The fund is also a member of the following groups that are aligned with the delivery of its responsible investment aims:

Climate change

The fund has identified climate change as the single most important factor that could materially impact its long-term investment performance. Given the importance of climate change, it has produced a a Climate Change Policy (pdf format, 170Kb) and associated Implementation Plan. The fund has a target for its investment portfolios to be Net Zero by 2050 in order to limit global temperature rises to below 2°C by the end of the century.

Each year, the fund produces Oxfordshire Pension Fund TCFD report (pdf format, 1.2 MB) based on the recommendations from the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The report also provides an update on the climate related activities of the fund over the year and performance against its targets. 

The fund has agreed an Engagement Policy (pdf format, 116Kb) that sets out its expectations of companies on climate-related factors. The policy specifies criteria the fund expects to be met with associated deadlines. Companies who fail to meet the criteria by the specified deadlines will be identified for potential exclusion. This policy forms the position of the Pension Fund in providing input to the Brunel Climate policy. 

Brunel has also produced a climate change policy and publishes an annual Responsible Investment and Stewardship Outcomes report detailing performance against their responsible investment goals.