<p>At the end of the year the 105 public pension funds in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland had collectively invested &pound;16.6 billion&nbsp;(&euro;19.1 billion) in asset classes including infrastructure, real estate, and private equity, according to State Street&rsquo;s research. This amounts to roughly 6.6% of the total assets in the local government pension scheme (LGPS).</p> <p>Andy Todd, head of UK pensions and banks at State Street, said the rise was &ldquo;significant&rdquo;, although the starting point was low.</p> <p>&ldquo;Pension funds do want to investigate these asset classes &ndash; some of them, maybe, for the first time,&rdquo; he said.</p>