How the plan decides where to invest

Investing for such a large plan is complex. Policies help Municipal Pension Board of Trustees decide how and where to invest.


Investment policies

The board provides BCI with a set of policies to guide investment decisions before they are made:

  • The Statement of Investment Policies and Procedures sets investment guidelines and direction for the investment manager, BCI. It helps define the many different types of assets in which the plan invests (known as asset classes), as well as how much to invest in each asset class to find the appropriate balance between potential return and investment risk. This policy also establishes the benchmark against which the fund’s success will be measured.
  • The plan’s choice of how much to allocate to each type of asset (strategic asset mix) is part of the Statement of Investment Policies and Procedures. Generally in investment management, the strategic asset mix is considered to have the most impact on the investment outcomes, so the board spends a significant amount of time on issues related to the strategic asset mix.

The board’s investment committee regularly reviews the asset mix. The board does a thorough review at least every three years. The analysis can involve economic scenarios, and a review of the types of investment risk assumed by the plan.


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