Policy clause
"The committee reviews the policy every year": how to write it, test it and evidence it
A review clause is an obligation, not a limit: no position shows whether a committee met and decided. Acclimetry holds it as a manual obligation with an annual schedule and an attestation task approved by a second person. A rule following that obligation reads compliant while the review is done, a warning as it nears, and a breach once overdue.
The investment committee will review this policy at least once a year.
manual_obligationQuestions to settle before it can be tested
- Every year: by a fixed date, within twelve months of the last review, or once per calendar year? The obligation needs a due date.
- What counts as a review: an agenda item, a minuted decision, a re-approved policy? The attestation fields should ask for the evidence.
- Who attests: the secretary, the chair, or both? Approval by a second person keeps maker-checker separation.
- Event-driven reviews: a significant change may call for a review sooner, and obligations can be triggered by events as well as the calendar.
As a testable rule
Manual obligation, frequency annual, next due 30 September 2026, with attestation fields for the meeting date, the decision and the minutes, and approval required. A manual-obligation rule follows it with a 14-day warning window. The rule's value is the number of days overdue.
A testable wording
The investment committee will review this policy by 30 September each year and record its decision in the minutes. The secretary attests to the review, and the chair approves the attestation.
UK pension trustees must review their statement of investment principles at least every three years (2005 Regulations, reg 2). They must also review it without delay after a significant change in investment policy. The annual review checklist lists what a review covers.
Worked example
Last year's review was approved, but no task was raised for the 2026 review due on 30 September: a breach, 12 days overdue.
Rule template:manual_obligation obligationId: 6aaf00000000000000000038warnWithinDays: 14
| Obligation | Frequency | Latest task | Next due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual review of the investment policy | annual | approved, due 30 September 2025 | 30 September 2026 |
| Group | Status | Value | Bounds | Headroom to the hard bound | Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual review of the investment policy | Breach | 12 | – | – | OBLIGATION_OVERDUE |
OBLIGATION_OVERDUE: The obligation is past its due date without an approved task, or its latest task failed or was rejected.
Computed at build time by the Acclimetry rule engine (backend commit 8197063); the same code runs in the product.
What each monitoring run records
Each attestation stores the answers, attachments, reviewer and timestamps against the obligation. The rule's results show when the review fell due, when it was approved and any days overdue. An overdue or failed attestation opens a case, and the year's cycle then appears in the evidence record.
Sources
- Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations 2005, reg 2 · OGL v3.0 · Read on13 October 2026