Londonβs Barking & Dagenham local authority scheme is to cut its exposure to global equity, instead allocating Β£50m (β¬63m) to a diversified alternatives mandate managed by .
The Β£666m fund also said it had drawn up a shortlist of managers for a proposed social housing mandate, but did not disclose their names.
The appointment comes as the scheme agreed a new strategic asset allocation, cutting its global equity exposure by 6 percentage points to 45%.
It also cut 1 percentage point from its strategic allocation to global credit and senior loans.
Barking & Dagenham said the majority of the funding for Aberdeenβs mandate would come from equities, with a further Β£12m drawn from cash holdings.
Aberdeen was appointed only , beating 10 rivals to the position, and will be expected to return 4-5% above LIBOR.
According to a report from the fundβs most recent pension committee meeting, it will also push ahead with plans to invest in social housing, examining two possible mandates recommended in a report by consultancy .
The social housing investment would be part of its attempt to reach full funding, with the report describing the asset class as a βfairly secure investmentβ that could return 2-3% above index-linked Gilts.
The local authority currently hopes to achieve full funding by 2033, raising coverage above the 71% funding it reported as part of its triennial valuation.
Barking & Dagenham, one of the local authority schemes invested in a Β£700m vehicle, which , also confirmed the amount committed by the UK Group Pension Scheme.
Reporting on HIFβs performance, the fund noted that Hermes held a second close at the end of last year, which saw an Β£80m commitment by the Santander scheme.
βAs a result, Hermes made a capital distribution on 24 January of approximately Β£5.8m,β the report added.
Hermes was tied with Baillie Gifford as the fundβs best performing manager when measured by benchmark outperformance over the past 12 months.
The firm, actively managing a Β£114m equity mandate, was also ahead of Hermes whem measuring absolute return performance, returning 12% compared with 11.2% for Hermes over a 12-month period.
