Investment functions will be undertaken by different bodies or institutions. In order for the governance process to be effective, the roles and responsibilities of each body and how these interact will be clearly defined and communicated.
Guideline code
INVEST_00500
Mechanism
Mechanism
- The social security institution has responsibility for managing the amount of risk borne by different stakeholders on a basis which is equitable between generations.
- The board and management shall each have clearly defined powers and responsibilities for investments which are clearly delineated at each level.
- The board should ensure that the investment-related risks faced by the social security institution are properly identified and managed or averted. The management should ensure that it identifies the investment-related risks that the institution faces, proposes policies and measures to manage or avert these, and implements those measures that are approved by the board.
- The board, management and investing institution personnel should have strong technical knowledge, numeric and analytical skills, and an understanding of risk and probability and how this impacts upon the investment governance process. Such skills should enable the board, management and investing institution personnel to function effectively in their long-time-horizon mission.
- The board, management and investing institution shall be independent from political interference as regards investment decisions and implementation.
- The board, management and investing institution shall respect established policies and procedures regarding managing and, where appropriate, disclosing conflicts of interest which are related to investment management.
- The leadership of the board, management and investing institution shall motivate and inspire the personnel to propose and work on new ideas which would increase operational and investment efficiency and improve the implementation of the mandate of the social security institution.
- Well-governed social security institutions should have a clearly defined mission and goals to which stakeholders are committed. The board, management and investing institution personnel should understand what they are trying to achieve and how their strategy fits with these goals.
- The investment process should be framed by reference to a risk budget aligned to goals and mission and incorporate an appropriate view of alpha and beta. Risks may arise in various forms, including, but not limited to, strategic, operational, political, economic, regulatory and geographic risks.
- There should be clear, unambiguous and documented suitability and competence standards for positions in the board, management, investing institution and investment units.
- The selection and removal processes for members of the board and management should be clear, documented and publicly disclosed. The selection and removal processes for investing institution personnel should be clear, documented and made available to the board and management.
- An external, competent authority should supervise compliance of the board, management and investing institution with the established policies and procedures regarding managing and, where appropriate, disclosing conflicts of interest which are related to investment management.
- Programme policies and procedures should be implemented which encourage a learning culture which deliberately encourages change, challenges the commonplace assumptions of the industry and supports continual expansion of knowledge at all levels.
Structure
Structure
- The board or governing body is the group of persons who, under the legislation or by-laws establishing the entity, is given the responsibility to govern the social security institution and to exercise oversight of its administration. This could be a government ministry or department, a statutory body or a private entity. As part of this responsibility, the board or governing body is ultimately responsible for the investment activities of the social security institution. In these guidelines, the terms “board” and “governing body” are used interchangeably.
- The management is the group of persons who, under the legislation or by-laws establishing the entity, is given the responsibility for the administration and daily operations of the social security institution and the investing institution.
- In accordance with the legislation establishing a social security institution and/or the decision of a scheme’s governing body, the investing institution may be either the entity administering the social security institution or an entity established expressly for the purpose of investing the scheme’s funds.
- The governing body (or bodies) of the social security institution and/or the investing institution should appoint an investment committee responsible for developing the investment policy and the investment strategy, recommending them to the governing body (or bodies), overseeing their implementation and evaluating their effectiveness.
- The investing institution may, further, establish investment units to conduct investment activities internally.
Title HTML
Guideline 3. Bodies and their responsibilities
Type
Guideline_1
Weight
9