GROWTH in the Dorset Pension Fund, which has more than 80,000 members, has slowed – although is now worth more than £4.2billion.

Councillors have been told that the fund's growth remains lower overall than other benchmarked funds with one marker showing an annualised return of just over 7 per cent for the Dorset fund, compared to a benchmark of around 9 per cent.

Growth in more recent months has slowed and is now standing at around 3.5per cent, mainly due to geo-political factors.

Pension Fund Committee members heard from independent advisor, Steve Tyson, at their September meeting, that volatility in world markets, much of it caused by the US President Donald Trump, was likely to impact on the scheme with the possibility of more investments shifting towards safer bonds in the future, where yields have been increasing due to market uncertainty.

The meeting was told that further professional advice was being sought by local government funds nationally over investments connected to Isreal – which the panel has been quizzed over several times by opponents of Israeli actions in Gaza and elsewhere.

The meeting again heard a question about these investments from a member of the public calling on the fund to dis-invest in any companies trading with Isreal – alleging that previous advice to the fund committee had been flawed.

Committee chairman Cllr Andy Canning said the fund had no direct investments with any businesses trading with Isreal with most of the fund's investments held in units as part of 'investment vehicles' which are exposed to around 3,000 companies across the globe.

The Dorset Fund is largely made up of members from the two unitary councils in the county, educational establishments and former councils, although has almost 200 empoloyers in the scheme, most associated with public service.