Public pension schemes move to procure advanced investment strategy modelling
A new procurement for investment strategy modelling highlights how public pension funds are tightening their approach to complex, long-term asset decisions.
A new procurement for investment strategy modelling highlights how public pension funds are tightening their approach to complex, long-term asset decisions.
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LGPS Central Limited is seeking a new investment strategy modelling capability to strengthen how it gives tailored advice to its LGPS Partner Funds. The contract notice, published on 12th December 2025, places defined benefit pension liabilities and the complexity of investment decisions at the centre of that work, underlining a wider shift towards more structured, data-led decision making in public-sector pensions.
In its Investment Strategy Modelling contract notice, LGPS Central Limited states that it needs “a robust investment strategy modelling capability” to support its Partner Funds. The aim is to provide tailored strategic advice that reflects each fund’s defined benefit pension liabilities and the complexities of investment decisions.
The emphasis on defined benefit liabilities is significant. In such schemes, pension promises are linked to formula-based benefits, so any investment strategy has to be judged against long-term obligations to members rather than short-term performance alone. A modelling capability that can connect those liabilities with asset behaviour, under different economic conditions, becomes a core risk-management tool.
The wording of the notice also shows an interest in differentiation. By calling for “tailored strategic advice” for Partner Funds, LGPS Central Limited signals that a one-size-fits-all model will not do. Each Partner Fund may face a different profile of liabilities, membership and maturity, so the buyer appears to be looking for tools that can support fund-specific strategy rather than a single pooled view.
The reference to “complexities of investment decisions” points to the breadth of factors that public pension investors now have to weigh, from long time horizons to market volatility. While the notice does not set out technical requirements or preferred methodologies, it makes clear that a basic, static approach will not be enough. The modelling capability is expected to cope with complexity and to inform strategic choices, rather than simply record them.
The LGPS Central Limited notice sits within a broader trend among public-sector investors to invest in asset–liability modelling and related analytical tools.
In July 2025, Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Limited issued a prior information notice for an Asset Liability Management Model. That procurement aims to enhance support for its Partner Funds in strategic investment planning, risk management and portfolio construction. The language is close to that used by LGPS Central Limited: both point to tools that bridge the gap between long-term liabilities and investment strategy.
The same theme appears in the municipal sector. On 4th August 2025, Stadt Köln’s Amt für Recht, Vergabe und Versicherungen advertised a consulting contract for an ALM study and support in developing an investment strategy for the capital investments of its non-autonomous foundations. Here too, the focus is on structured analysis of how assets can best serve long-term obligations.
In August 2025, GKI Grenlandskommunenes Innkjøpsenhet in Norway sought a framework for financial consultancy services focused explicitly on managing assets and liabilities for six municipalities. The notice underlines the same asset–liability balance that defined benefit pension funds must strike.
Closer to the Local Government Pension Scheme, Norfolk County Council signalled in July 2025 that it was establishing a multi-provider framework for benchmarking and cost transparency services to support the Local Government Pension Scheme and other public-sector pension schemes. Benchmarking and cost transparency are different tools from full ALM models, but they serve a similar end: giving decision-makers clearer information about how their funds are behaving and what they are paying for.
Taken together, these procurements show a pattern. Public-sector institutions with long-term promises to meet are buying in modelling, studies and benchmarking frameworks to better understand the interaction between assets, liabilities and risk. LGPS Central Limited’s search for investment strategy modelling fits squarely within that trend.
The modelling push is accompanied by a steady build-up of specialist advice around public pension boards and committees.
On 2nd July 2025, National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) Corporation published a contract notice for investment consultancy services. NEST is seeking ongoing specialist support for the development of its organisational model and investment approach, with a focus on strategic investment advice and target operating model design for large regulated occupational pension schemes. This is about embedding external expertise in the governance of investment decisions.
At local level, Mole Valley District Council in August 2025 went to market for a Commercial Property Investment Advisor to provide strategic advice on high‑value investment and regeneration assets as part of its Asset Management Strategy. The brief there is not about pensions, but it shares the same drive to couple long-term assets with specialist, independent judgement.
The oversight of pension investments is also tightening. On 31st October 2025, the London Borough of Bromley advertised independent investment adviser services. The adviser will provide quarterly analyses and recommendations to the Pensions Committee, attend meetings to discuss performance, and offer insights on various asset classes, while also updating Bromley’s climate change report. That mix of technical analysis and climate-focused reporting reflects how investment advice is expanding in scope.
On the implementation side, Dundee City Council published a notice on 17th October 2025 for investment management services covering 50% of the Tayside Pension Fund’s opportunistic portfolio. The brief focuses on private market asset classes, with environmental and social impact prioritised and a significant share of investments targeted in Scotland. Meanwhile, LD Fonde (LD Pensions) in October 2025 sought an investment manager for its EUR high yield bonds assets, aiming to outperform an index net of costs over a full market cycle.
These examples show public pension schemes buying in both high-level strategic advice and specialist asset management. LGPS Central Limited’s investment strategy modelling procurement sits earlier in that chain: it is about improving the analytical foundation on which future advice and allocation decisions for Partner Funds will rest.
The move towards stronger modelling is not confined to pensions. Utilities, health bodies and housing investors are also upgrading how they plan and monitor long-lived assets.
In July 2025, Anglian Water Services Limited issued a prior information notice for an Asset Investment Planning and Management system. The project aims to implement a modern system to enhance risk‑informed investment decisions, support long‑term planning and integrate with existing digital systems. Here the asset base is physical infrastructure, but the underlying challenge – deciding how best to invest over many years under uncertainty – is familiar to pension funds.
Thames Water followed in November 2025 with a contract notice for a Portfolio, Programme and Project Management (P3M) system to support asset lifecycle and capital delivery. The solution is expected to enhance asset investment planning and execution, integrate with existing systems and support sustainability goals. Again, the watchwords are integration, planning and risk‑aware allocation of capital.
On 8th December 2025, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust sought suppliers for an NHS asset utilisation framework. The trust wants cloud‑based platforms to track and optimise clinical equipment usage, integrating with NHS systems and supporting full asset lifecycle management to improve operational efficiency and patient care. This is another case where granular data and modelling guide how public assets are used over time.
Meanwhile, national and housing funds are paying closer attention to reporting and resilience. On 7th July 2025, Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie advertised a contract to build a comprehensive reporting structure for the Future Fund’s venture capital portfolio, enabling consistent controlling, transparent asset representation and independent risk management. And on 16th December 2025, Foncière Logement launched a consulting mission to assess the resilience of its strategic model against economic and financial shocks for the 2026–2029 period.
Across these very different sectors, the pattern is consistent: public and quasi‑public bodies are commissioning systems, studies and frameworks that allow them to see their assets, liabilities and risks more clearly. LGPS Central Limited’s investment strategy modelling requirement can be read as part of this wider modernisation of capital planning.
The LGPS Central Limited notice is concise: it sets out the need for a robust modelling capability linked to defined benefit liabilities and complex investment decisions, but does not yet spell out scope, duration, technology choices or budget. Further documentation, if published, will show how far‑reaching the change in modelling practice will be for its Partner Funds.
Observers of public pension governance will be watching how this procurement interacts with broader trends visible elsewhere: more sophisticated asset–liability tools, as seen at Border to Coast and in municipal ALM studies; growing use of specialist advisers, as with Bromley and NEST; and increasing attention to climate and wider social impact in mandates such as Dundee City Council’s opportunistic portfolio. For now, the signal from December 2025 is clear: investment strategy for public pension funds is becoming more model‑driven, and the tools behind that shift are moving up the procurement agenda.
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