Nid da lle gellir gwell. Perhaps the chancellor had this Welsh proverb in mind (which means ‘not good where better is possible') when she announced the pensions review on 20 July. The terms of reference raise fears about the review's potential impact on the local government pension scheme in Wales. Henri Murison's article in The MJ has already set out concerns that pension fund mergers could see the focus shift away from investment in the north of England.

The first phase is looking at ‘tackling fragmentation and inefficiency…through consolidation and improved governance'. This will doubtless consider further expansion of pooling of investments by the pension funds as the press release explains: ‘Pooling this money would enable the funds to invest in a wider range of UK assets'. However the main target is probably merger of pension funds or ‘consolidation' as it is euphemistically described: ‘To cut down on fragmentation and waste in the LGPS, which spends around £2bn each year on fees and costs and is split across 87 funds…the Review will also consider the benefits of further consolidation.'