The newly devolved Scottish Parliament has appointed Edinburgh-based Baillie Gifford to manage its pension fund assets, standing at around £1m (E1.5m), for the 129 elected members.
Baillie Gifford, which has been appointed on a three-year contract, will run the assets within its managed fund, investing 60% in UK equities, 25% in overseas equities and the remainder in cash and a mix of UK and overseas bonds.
Derek Stein, payroll and pensions manager at the Scottish Parliament, says: “We drew up a list of prospective managers in conjunction with government actuaries from which three were shortlisted for the mandate. Baillie Gifford made the best presentation of their services to the board.”
The Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) will contribute around 6% of annual salary to the scheme, with the parliament contributing 17.1%, which Stein says is in line with MP rates at Westminster.
Colin Neilson, marketing director at Baillie Gifford, comments: “We are delighted to win this prestigious mandate, which we feel reflects our strong track record and service quality in managing £2.5bn of local authority pension fund money.”