ACCESS LGPS Pool appoints MJ Hudson as implementation advisor for pooling of illiquid assets
13th January 2022 – The ACCESS Pool has this month appointed MJ Hudson, the specialist service provider to the asset management industry, as implementation advisor for the pooling of illiquid assets, including private equity, infrastructure, private debt and real estate.
As implementation advisor, MJ Hudson will provide support to the Pool in selecting individual investment opportunities and investment managers to build portfolios in a range of illiquid assets.
The ACCESS Joint Committee will use MJ Hudson’s analyses and recommendations to inform their future actions and to meet the requirements and ambitions of local Authorities within the Pool. The first illiquid vehicles are expected to be launched in 2022/23.
ACCESS is a collaboration of 11 LGPS Authorities which enables investments on behalf of more than one million members and 3,250 public sector employers. These consist of almost £35bn of pooled pension assets1.
Commenting on the appointment Cllr Kemp-Gee, Chairman of the ACCESS Joint Committee, said, “This long-term partnership with MJ Hudson is part of an important next phase in our development, as we will be able to offer pooled illiquid investment opportunities to our 11 member local authorities. MJ Hudson’s experience of successfully working with the LGPS and extensive private markets expertise make them the ideal partners for this process.”
Odi Lahav, COO, at MJ Hudson said: “We are extremely pleased to have been selected by ACCESS to act as implementation adviser for the Pool’s illiquid strategies. We look forward to working with the ACCESS member Authorities to provide them with strategic and manager selection advice in private markets, as these asset classes continue to gain strategic importance in LGPS investment portfolios.”
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1 As at 31 December 2021 the Authorised Contractual scheme (ACS) operated by Link Fund Solutions contained £23.0bn of active assets, and £11.9bn of passive assets were managed by UBS.
Notes for Editors
Media enquiries:
ACCESS
Calum MacDougall, ENGINE MHP
access@mhpc.com / 07712 536 361
MJ Hudson
Katherine Hazelden
katherine.hazelden@MJHudson.com/ +44 20 3463 3200
About the ACCESS Pool
The ACCESS (A Collaboration of Central, Eastern and Southern Shires) is made of 11 LGPS Administering Authorities: Cambridgeshire County Council; East Sussex County Council; Essex County Council; Hampshire County Council; Hertfordshire County Council; Isle of Wight Council; Kent County Council; Norfolk County Council; West Northamptonshire Council; Suffolk County Council; and West Sussex County Council.
ACCESS Authorities are committed to working together and have each signed an Inter Authority Agreement, setting out how they will work together in response to the Governments pooling agenda across the LGPS, and to optimise benefits and efficiencies on behalf of their individual and collective stakeholders.
The ACCESS Joint Committee currently consists of 11 Councillors nominated by each of the ACCESS Authorities.
About MJ Hudson
MJ Hudson, the specialist service provider to the asset management industry, provides legal and financial services, investment consultancy, outsourcing, analytics and complementary advice and support to fund managers, investors and their counterparties, together forming an end-to-end platform of services. From its offices in Europe and North America’s major asset management centres, MJ Hudson’s team of 240 professionals works across the industry, with a particular focus on alternative assets, including private equity, venture capital, hedge funds, real estate, infrastructure, energy, and private credit.
The firm was admitted to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange on 12 December 2019 and trades under the MJH.L symbol.
Our Investment Advisory team provides independent investment consulting and advice, transition and trading solutions and trustee services to institutional investors, including corporate and local government pension schemes, endowments and charitable organisations.
With over £80bn of assets under advice and a high-calibre advisory team that offers substantial senior experience across the investment and pension fund industry, we are well placed to provide proactive assistance on all investment and governance matters.
Our clients benefit from the strength of our dedicated team, process philosophy and long-standing knowledge of the market, as well as our commitment to delivering comprehensive and accessible research.