The Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF) is the UK’s largest local government pension scheme with €32.6bn in assets under management. It serves more than 400,000 current and former local government staff. In 2022, the fund generated an investment return of 4%, and has gained an average of 6.3% a year over the past decade.

The fund takes a specific interest in social impact investments, which it terms as ‘local investments’ and which sit within standalone portfolios. The fund recognises the duality of investing in this sector, both in delivering attractive investment returns and contributing toward positive societal changes such as regional levelling-up, net zero, social care funding and more.

GMPF has been recognised by the UK government regarding its commitment to local investments and was even referenced within the government’s recent ‘Levelling Up’ white paper addressing inequalities across the country.

By investing with impact and within the geographical area, GMPF believes that stakeholders will benefit from the economic activity that its investments are likely to generate. As of 31 December 2022, it has made total commitments of £770m into a number of local investments, including the provision of supported living accommodation, renewable energy, loans to small- and medium-sized enterprises, and private equity with a focus on impact investing. It also invests in pooled funds with a national impact focus.

In June 2022, GMPF approved a recommendation for its Impact Portfolio to have increased flexibility and move towards a ‘Jobs and Place’ based impact strategy. Recent investments have been made into a ‘Homelessness Fund’, which acquires properties and leases them to the social housing sector and homelessness charities to provide individuals and families at risk of homelessness with a settled home. Another investment has been made into a venture fund targeting investment into academic spinouts in the north of England.