Kinna Patel, head of investment proposition at NatWest Cushon, joins us for this episode of The Professional Investment Podcast. Her news story of the week is the FT’s coverage of the shake-up to salary sacrifice announced at last week’s budget.

While this measure is not due to come until 2029 – and could be reversed before then – it seems a counterintuitive move. The government has reformed The Pensions Commission to address pension adequacy – reducing people’s ability to add to their pension pots at the same time seems odd.

With any changes to contribution levels ruled out until the next parliament, the pressure is on investment professionals running auto-enrolled pensions to ensure they can get the highest returns without taking on too much risk.

We discuss how equities is the key driver of wealth creation throughout the lifetime of a member – not only is it effective at growing capital but it can be accessed cheaply through passive vehicle. There are ways, however, to shape this allocation – climate tilts, dynamic regional weightings, adding an alpha allocation and currency hedging. Natwest Cushon is considering the latter option.

Fixed income helps to preserve member’s wealth as the move to and through retirement but investors still need an allocation to growth assets after they stop working.

Private assets can not only add growth and diversification to a portfolio but also help investors to build emotional connection with their clients. Natwest Cushon’s investment in a pepper farm powered by a nearby wastewater plant, fits this brief perfectly making scheme members able to eat their pension.

Kinna also shared her thoughts on how auto-enrolment providers can address retirement income saying the industry is thinking the best way to address this challenge with solutions likely to evolve over time.

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ABOUT THE GUEST:

Kinna has worked in DC pensions for more than a decade and joined the NatWest Cushon team to be part of a pioneering team that is always looking to innovate and has climate integration and adaptation at its core. As Head of Investment Proposition, she is responsible for external stakeholder engagement on investment, as well as the investment proposition itself.

Before joining NatWest Cushon, Kinna was a DC Investment Director at LGIM, working on the investment proposition, and with strategic clients and Employee Benefit Consultants. She also worked at Hymans Robertson as a DC Investment Consultant.

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ABOUT THE HOST:

Charlotte Moore is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Moore Squared Communications. She has spent almost two decades writing about how the UK’s largest investment organisations allocate their capital for a number of different specialist magazines including Professional Pensions, IPE and MandateWire. She started this podcast to increase understanding of how and why the UK’s £3 trillion pensions industry invests its members’ capital to provide the best possible retirement.

🔗 https://lotsmoore.co.uk/

Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction

02:10 – Employer Duty of Care

05:05 – Employee Wellbeing Needs

07:40 – Financial Wellbeing & Productivity

10:15 – Pensions Literacy

12:55 – Auto-Enrolment Overview

15:35 – Multiple Pension Pots

18:10 – Salary Sacrifice Basics

20:45 – Tech & Engagement

23:05 – Effective Communication

25:10 – Future of Workplace Benefits

27:21 – Outro

The guest for this episode of The Professional Investment Podcast is Phil Butler, deputy chief investment officer for the People’s Pension. His news story of the week is LCP latest research showing progress from master trusts on climate change policy but more to be done in the detail.

We discuss how asset owners should approach stewardship - how they need to be clear-eyed about what they need to achieve and work closely with asset managers on this issue as well being prepared to collaborate with others.

People’s decision to move away from pooled funds to segregated mandates while also switching managers illustrates what can be won by managers whose sustainable investment philosophy is aligned with those of asset owners.

But even with the best efforts, trying to affect change through stewardship can feel like hard work. This is one of the appeals of a private asset portfolio – a more direct relationship can lead to greater influence on the company. Phil talks about how People’s is thinking about UK productive assets.

At the end of the half hour, Phil and I get more philosophical about how to think about climate risk across the whole portfolio and how to consider it across the life time of a member from building up their wealth to spending it over their retirement.

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ABOUT THE GUEST:

• Phil Butler – Deputy Chief Investment Officer, People’s Partnership 
• Phil is Deputy CIO and joined Peoples Partnership in December 2024. Phil works with Dan in the CIO office to lead the investment team of People’s Partnership, driving forward the investment strategy of the £35bn+ People’s Pension Master Trust which serves over 7 million members and is one of the largest asset owners in the UK.
• Prior to this, he spent 14 years at M&G Plc as a multi-asset portfolio manager specialising in long only portfolios with varying risk ratings across several client types. Before M&G, he spent 15 months at the Bank of England as a research assistant whilst completing his degree. Phil has experience working with Trustees, Charities and is a NED for a financial software platform.
• Phil holds a degree in Banking and International Finance from Bayes Business school, is a CFA Charterholder and successfully passed the CFA Certificates in ESG Investing and Climate & Investing.
• Phil was previously an approved person by the FCA.

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ABOUT THE HOST:

Charlotte Moore is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Moore Squared Communications. She has spent almost two decades writing about how the UK’s largest investment organisations allocate their capital for a number of different specialist magazines including Professional Pensions, IPE and MandateWire. She started this podcast to increase understanding of how and why the UK’s £3 trillion pensions industry invests its members’ capital to provide the best possible retirement.

🔗 https://lotsmoore.co.uk/

00:00 – Introduction & Welcome

00:21 – Guest Introduction: Phil Butler, Deputy CIO

00:43 – News Story of the Week

01:46 – LCP Report: Master Trusts & Climate Policy

03:10 – Climate Risk & the 1.5°C Challenge

05:02 – System Stewardship & Industry Collaboration

07:48 – Progress on Climate Advocacy in Pensions

10:12 – Engagement vs Divestment Discussion

12:35 – Measuring Real-World Impact

15:04 – Transparency & Data Quality Challenges

17:42 – Stewardship Priorities for Pension Schemes

20:18 – Integrating Climate Strategy into Portfolios

23:06 – Asset Allocation & Long-Term Thinking

25:40 – The Role of Fixed Income & Credit Markets

28:14 – Catalysts Needed for Future Change

31:05 – Looking Ahead: Priorities for the Sector

33:20 – Final Thoughts & Episode Close

Gareth Mee, chief investment officer for both Legal & General’s assurance society and institutional retirement division, is the guest for this episode of The Professional Investment Podcast. His news story of the week is LCP’s forecasting up to £550bn in buy-ins over the next decade.

We discuss how these vast capital flows are attracting new market entrants with private equity firms snapping up L&G’s competitors while others, such as Phoenix Group, are looking to raise more capital. We also examine whether run-on is a realistic option or likely to be a reality for only a few paternalistic schemes with finance directors unscared by DB trauma.

CIOs at insurers will have their work cut out for them over the next decade as they look to invest that £55bn a year. Gareth explains why he prefers sovereign to corporate debt and how insurers can avoid over-inflating asset prices in the face of such significant capital flows.

We talk about how insurers are innovating to broaden their investment universe into asset classes that might otherwise not sit well in their regulatory framework – and how they avoid taking this too far. Gareth says he most excited about investing in emerging and frontier markets.

We examine how insurers manage their sustainability risks. As providers of hurricane and flood insurers, these organisations are at the sharp end of climate change and need to ensure these risks are balanced in the assets they invest in. We discuss how insurers are thinking about a nascent asset class like natural capital.

We debate whether insurers are neglecting the development of deferred annuities for the DC as they are too distracted by the buy-out bonanza. Gareth addresses the frustrations felt by those looking to develop retirement income for workplace pensions.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Gareth Mee Chief Investment Officer Legal & General Assurance Society and Legal & General Institutional Retirement.

Gareth is Chief Investment Officer of Legal & General Assurance Society (LGAS) and Legal & General Institutional Retirement and oversees the investments for the insurance business globally.

Legal & General is a UK FTSE 100 insurance and asset management business, with market capitalisation of $19bn and operating profits of $2bn. LGAS is the UK regulated entity through which all of its UK insurance business is written. The investment team oversees investments of c. £100bn in UK, US and Bermuda and across both the retail annuity and institutional retirement annuity business.

For the first three years of his time at L&G, Gareth was CFO of Legal & General Capital and then CIO of its private markets business within asset management. During this time, he served as Board Director of its US real estate development business and its Retirement Villages business.

Prior to his career at Legal & General, Gareth spent nearly 20 years at EY; latterly as the partner leading its Global Investment Advisory, UK actuarial and sustainable finance consulting practices. He is an active volunteer within the Actuarial Profession, having served on the Life and Finance & Investment Boards as well as chairing working parties covering private market investments and procyclicality.

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🔗 https://lotsmoore.co.uk/

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Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction & Welcome

00:12 – Charlotte Moore introduces Gareth Mee

02:34 – Investment flows into the insurance sector

04:47 – Rethinking efficiency and focus in asset management

07:02 – Addressing industry misconceptions and accusations

09:21 – Legal & General’s investment pipeline for the coming year

11:44 – The role of traditional assets in UK insurance portfolios

14:09 – Exploring sub-investment grade and private credit markets

16:34 – The sustainability conundrum in institutional investing

18:47 – Managing illiquidity and sub-investment grade debt

21:11 – Balancing long-term commitments with short-term pressures

23:30 – Key takeaways and Gareth’s closing thoughts

24:05 – Charlotte Moore wraps up the episode

In the latest episode of The Professional Investment Podcast, Mitesh Sheth, founder of OrgAlpha and ex-CEO of Redington, joins me to discuss this week’s FT asset management newsletter which focused issues with private credit and equity assets.

While market concerns about these asset classes are not new, it’s something that does not often get included in the debate about whether pension schemes should allocate to these asset classes.

Thinking about the change in the interest rate environment over the past few years, it’s surprising more companies have not struggled with higher debt costs.

Many have been able to role forward that debt but that won’t happen forever. The environment has also changed in private equity with asset owners now wielding more power and wanting private equity lawyers to become less aggressive!

Asset owners and managers are changing the way they design portfolios with a move away from strategic asset allocation towards total portfolio allocation. This approach aims to make co-ordinated decisions based on the total portfolio’s risk and return objective.

This strategy makes more sense for many large professional investors managing pension scheme assets as they have a very clear set of objectives about what they want to achieve for their members.

We discuss how larger pension organisations are already thinking about how they can make their portfolios more dynamic to be nimble in the face of risks such as credit uncertainty or concentration risk in US equities.

We end the discussion reflecting on the implications of this fundamental change in portfolio design for asset managers and owners who are already dealing with two decades of rapid change.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Mitesh Sheth, FIA, MBE

Mitesh is an actuary, investment executive and board-level leader with experience of building successful teams, scaling businesses and developing innovative client solutions. He has recently founded OrgAlpha, a boutique consultancy, helping leaders unlock organisational alpha.

Professionally, Mitesh has held senior leadership roles in global investment firms, including serving as CEO of Redington, Chief Investment Officer at Newton Investment Management and Head of Fixed Income at Henderson Global Investors. He started his career as an Investment Consultant and Manager Researcher at Aon and WTW.

Mitesh serves on the Board of the Diversity Project, is a member of the Pathway Steering Committee (developing the next generation of female fund managers), and sits on the advisory board of the Asset Owner Diversity Charter. In recognition of his work building diverse and inclusive cultures within financial services, he was awarded an MBE in 2022.

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ABOUT THE HOST:

Charlotte Moore is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Moore Squared Communications. She has spent almost two decades writing about how the UK’s largest investment organisations allocate their capital for a number of different specialist magazines including Professional Pensions, IPE and MandateWire. She started this podcast to increase understanding of how and why the UK’s £3 trillion pensions industry invests its members’ capital to provide the best possible retirement.

🔗 https://lotsmoore.co.uk/

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#Pensions #RetirementPlanning #FinancialWellbeing #StandardLife #ProfessionalInvestmentPodcast #CharlotteMoore #EstherHawley #UKFinance #PensionsCommission #InvestmentPodcast #MoneyMatters #FinancialLiteracy

Chapters:

00:12 – Introduction

00:16 – Introduction by Charlotte Moore

00:19 – Guest intro: Mitesh Sheth (Reddington, Org Alpha)

00:29 – News of the week

01:15 – Private equity & private credit

06:49 – Transparency & valuations in private markets

24:49 – Lessons from Reddington

26:53 – Leadership & people-first culture

Esther Hawley, head of retirement proposition at Standard Life, joins me on The Professional Investment Podcast this week. She chose the challenges facing the Pensions Commission to deliver meaningful reform as her news story of the week.

We discuss how the industry is on the cusp of a new phase – turning the wealth built up in pension pots into a retirement income. The debate about the best way to achieve this goal still rages with different solutions such as CDC and defined benefit discussed.

While DC is often criticised, it allows ownership and personalisation. We talk about how providers are thinking about how to turn these pots into income with investment options becoming more sophisticated than simply switching from equities into annuities.

Investing in growth assets will need to continue for longer with people needing growing assets for decades and there will be a broadening of the asset universe to include different private assets through the journey.

Insurance companies will also be able to manage market risk for individuals by offering smoothed retirement paths but much of the thinking is still in the early stages.

We end the discussion by focusing on ensuring providers maximise retirement income for the median members by improving efficiency at every stage.

About the guest

An actuary with over 20 years’ experience in the pensions industry, Esther is passionate about making DC “better”. Having joined Standard Life in 2022, she is focussed on improving the solutions and support available to individuals retiring with DC savings, to help people manage the risks they face in retirement.

Before joining Standard Life, Esther was a Principal at Barnett Waddingham with experience spanning from advising DC schemes on investments to DB funding advice. Since 2018 Esther has chaired a working party for the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) looking at how the industry can improve post-retirement products for consumers. She has also recently been shortlisted for “Innovator of the Year” in the Professional Pensions Women in Pensions Awards 2025.

About the host

Charlotte Moore is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Moore Squared Communications. She has spent almost two decades writing about how the UK’s largest investment organisations allocate their capital for a number of different specialist magazines including Professional Pensions, IPE and MandateWire. She started this podcast to increase understanding of how and why the UK’s £3 trillion pensions industry invests its members’ capital to provide the best possible retirement.

Website: https://lotsmoore.co.uk/

#Pensions #RetirementPlanning #FinancialWellbeing #StandardLife #ProfessionalInvestmentPodcast #CharlotteMoore #EstherHawley #UKFinance #PensionsCommission #InvestmentPodcast #MoneyMatters #FinancialLiteracy

Chapters

00:00 – Key Challenges for the Pensions Commission

02:31 – How UK Policy Shapes Pension Outcomes

04:57 – Workplace Pensions and Member Outcomes

07:23 – Decumulation: From Pot to Paycheque

09:50 – Decumulation: From Pot to Paycheque

12:15 – Are Annuities Back for UK Retirees

14:42 – Are Annuities Back for UK Retirees

17:09 – Digital Tools and Innovation for Retirement

19:34 – Key Challenges for the Pensions Commission

22:03 – Auto Enrolment: What Comes Next

24:28 – Standard Life’s Perspective with Esther Hawley

26:54 – Are Annuities Back for UK Retirees

29:21 – Digital Tools and Innovation for Retirement

In this episode of The Professional Investment Podcast I’m joined by Shalin Bhagwan, chief actuary at the PPF. He chose the news of there being a low likelihood the PPF levy would be reinstated if it is cut as his story of the week.

We look at the state of the UK’s defined benefit industry when the PPF was established two decades ago. Back then pension schemes funding positions were highly volatile and deficits about to balloon in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Scroll forward 20 years, and the PPF now has reserves of £14 billion.

Although we are now at a very positive point with the strength of the industry and the PPF at the point where the levy can be reduced to zero, there are still issues which need to be solved. 

The DB pension landscape remains highly fragmented with many of the smallest schemes still in deficit. Shalin explains how the PPF is well placed to help these schemes.

We also delve in the run-on versus buy-out debate and different options which could help more schemes to pursue buy-out. We talk about the investment implications of this trend and how pension schemes should embrace the greater investment flexibility they have compared with insurers.

Finally we talk about how we should address pension adequacy and the challenges of retiring with a pot rather than an income.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Shalin Bhagwan joined the Pension Protection Fund in 2023 as our chief actuary. 

Shalin brings extensive pensions, insurance and investment experience having worked across the sector for many years. He started his career in South Africa in life insurance pricing and reserving and then transitioned into liability valuations for defined benefit pension funds. 

In addition, he brings significant LDI, derivative and credit portfolio management experience and has advised some of the UK’s largest pension funds on their LDI strategies both as a consultant with Mercer and portfolio manager with Legal & General Investment Management..

He is a member of the advisory panel at the Financial Reporting Council. He recently served as a member of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries' Finance and Investment Board and as an advisory member for the task force to boost socio-economic diversity at senior levels in both the financial and professional services sectors.

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ABOUT THE HOST:

Charlotte Moore is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Moore Squared Communications. She has spent almost two decades writing about how the UK’s largest investment organisations allocate their capital for a number of different specialist magazines including Professional Pensions, IPE and MandateWire. She started this podcast to increase understanding of how and why the UK’s £3 trillion pensions industry invests its members’ capital to provide the best possible retirement.

🔗 https://lotsmoore.co.uk/

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#ShalinBhagwan #Pensions #RetirementPlanning #LongevityRisk #Investing #Finance #SustainableInvesting #ProfessionalInvestmentPodcast #FidelityInternational #Retirement

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction & welcome with guest Shalin Bhagwan (PPF)

05:00 The PPF levy and funding levels over time

10:00 Resilience of DB schemes and risk management strategies

15:00 PPF core competencies: investment, pension administration, reserves

20:00 Buyout vs. run-on debate and surplus flexibilities

25:00 Investment strategies, global credit markets and scheme diversification

30:00 Pension adequacy challenges and lessons from DB to DC transitions

34:00 Closing thoughts & subscribe reminder

In the first episode of the fourth series of The Professional Investment podcast, James Monk, workplace investment director at Fidelity International joins us to discuss how we can address pension inadequacy.

A recent report from Hymans Robertson provided this week’s news story which highlighted the variability in retirement income levels as well as the difficulty for individuals to manage their longevity risk.

The government announced the relaunch of the Pensions Commission this summer to address pension inadequacy but said no changes to contribution levels would be made before the next parliament.

That will put increased pressure on pension providers to maximise investment returns to provide the best possible old age. James and I discuss how default funds should be designed to achieve this outcome.

With the number of people relying on defined contribution pots to provide their retirement income, providers are grappling with the best designs to last the life of a pensioner.

We discuss how default funds need to deal with these different phases, the often contradictory challenges which need to be solved as well as managing the longevity risk highlighted in the Hymans Robertson report.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

James Monk - workplace investment director at Fidelity International

James is a Workplace Investment Director at Fidelity International looking after the FutureWise Target Dated Fund default strategy, its journey to-and-through retirement and manage a few key strategic IO clients since February 2023. He comes with 14 years DC Investment industry experience and is qualified as a Regulated Financial Planner. James’ experience covers investment design, private assets, sustainability, retirement and the workplace provider industry. He is a member of the Investment Association Retirement Income committee and was part of the Bank of England’s Productive Working Finance Group, making retirement and private assets more accessible.

ABOUT THE HOST:

Charlotte Moore is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Moore Squared Communications. She has spent almost two decades writing about how the UK’s largest investment organisations allocate their capital for a number of different specialist magazines including Professional Pensions, IPE and MandateWire. She started this podcast to increase understanding of how and why the UK’s £3 trillion pensions industry invests its members’ capital to provide the best possible retirement.

🔗 https://lotsmoore.co.uk/

Hashtags

#PensionsPodcast #UKPensions #DCInvestments #PrivateMarkets #InfrastructureInvestment

#SustainableFinance #AustralianSupers #PensionReform #LongTermInvesting #InvestmentStrategy

#MansionHouseAccord #VentureCapital #RealAssets #RetirementPlanning #CharlotteMoore

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the Professional Investment Podcast

03:00 Political and economic cycle considerations

06:00 Retirement journeys and long-term planning

09:00 Common financial misconceptions

12:00 Shifts in industry practices and structures

15:00 Changing risk environments in investments

18:00 External asset portfolios and diversification

21:00 AI in financial services and new tools

24:00 Fund supermarkets and origination models

27:00 Effective wealth management approaches

30:00 Measuring success and closing thoughts

In the final episode of series three of The Professional Investment Podcast, Charlotte Moore talks to Jesal Mistry, head of DC investments at L&G. We discuss the lessons UK pension schemes can learn from Australian supers about investing in our domestic market.

The news that Australian fund manager Macquarie would be investing in UK airports provided the spark for this discussion. In a recent trip down under, Jesal talked to supers and asset managers about how they allocate to their own market. This has been a long tradition with up to 60% of assets invested in Australia.

While asset owners could buy both public and private assets, UK public markets have been suffering in recent years with listings falling and performance faltering. This part of a broader market trend which has seen companies prefer private market financing to public flotations.

Jesal unwrapped how DC schemes should approach private market investing, using equity at the start of the members’ wealth journey and switching to debt during retirement. And within equity portfolios, risk needs to further diversified with some allocation to high growth, high risk assets like biotech and lower risk infrastructure equity.

Despite a focus on UK assets, L&G doesn’t constrain its private market assets to the UK but invests globally looking for best-in-class private asset managers to build the best portfolio for scheme members.

This episode is a vital listen for asset managers looking to understand how providers of contracted-out pensions schemes and master trusts are evolving their thinking about private asset allocation.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Jesal Mistry – Head of DC Investments, Asset Management, L&G

Jesal leads Legal & General dedicated DC Investments Team. The Team provides DC Investment expertise to clients and their advisers, supporting with their investment strategies and ensuring that they are aware of the latest developments in DC investment at Legal & General.

Jesal joined Legal & General in June 2019 having previously worked for Hymans Robertson where he was Senior DC Investment Consultant, responsible for managing key DC Investment relationships and supporting clients with strategies designed for their members. Jesal was also responsible for managing strategic relationships with all major DC providers in the UK. Prior to that, Jesal was Head of DC Investment Consulting at Capita Employee Benefits where he was responsible for developing Capita’s DC investment proposition and advising clients. Jesal has over 17 years of DC pensions and investment experience.

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ABOUT THE HOST:

Charlotte Moore is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Moore Squared Communications. She has spent almost two decades writing about how the UK’s largest investment organisations allocate their capital for a number of different specialist magazines including Professional Pensions, IPE and MandateWire. She started this podcast to increase understanding of how and why the UK’s £3 trillion pensions industry invests its members’ capital to provide the best possible retirement.

🔗 https://lotsmoore.co.uk/

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#PensionsPodcast #UKPensions #DCInvestments #PrivateMarkets #InfrastructureInvestment

#SustainableFinance #AustralianSupers #PensionReform #LongTermInvesting #InvestmentStrategy

#MansionHouseAccord #VentureCapital #RealAssets #RetirementPlanning #CharlotteMoore

In the latest episode of The Professional Investment Podcast, Adam Gillett, head of sustainable investment at Railpen, and I discuss the results of Responsible Investor’s annual nature and investors survey.

Adam highlights three findings – that nature is important to a high proportion of investors, it’s of equal importance to investors in both the US and Europe and a significant number of investors believe they can make an impact.

We discussed Railpen’s approach to impact and stewardship talking about finding key themes every five years. Even a scheme with 350,000 members and assets under management of £34bn does not have the resource to pursue every issue so priorities must be set.

But there is little point in setting goals unless they can be integrated across different asset classes. Adam discussed how Railpen takes different approach according to the asset class and – in the case of equities – according to actively managed and quantitative portfolios.

While we both welcomed investors’ positive attitude to making impact, Adam underscored the importance of investors engaging with policy makers to create the right legislation for sustainability. That includes working with companies to encourage them to campaign.

This is a must-listen episode for anyone looking to understand how a large UK pension scheme thinks about sustainability, impact and stewardship and why this a fundamental investment principle.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Adam Gillett is the Head of Sustainable Investment and Co-Head of Sustainable Ownership at Railpen. He is responsible for leading Railpen’s approach to sustainable investment, particularly in relation to provision of ESG risk advice, and climate and nature risk management. This includes delivery against Railpen’s net zero commitment.

Railpen is responsible for the safekeeping and investment of around £34 billion in assets for the 350,000 members of the railways pension schemes, one of the UK's largest and longest established pension funds. Railpen’s purpose is to secure our members’ future. We believe that financial and sustainability outcomes are complementary and integral to protecting our members' interests over the long term.

Adam formerly worked at WTW for 10 years where he was latterly Global Head of Sustainable Investment, having started his career at KPMG. He is a CFA charterholder and a fully qualified accountant.

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ABOUT THE HOST:

Charlotte Moore is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Moore Squared Communications. She has spent almost two decades writing about how the UK’s largest investment organisations allocate their capital for a number of different specialist magazines including Professional Pensions, IPE and MandateWire. She started this podcast to increase understanding of how and why the UK’s £3 trillion pensions industry invests its members’ capital to provide the best possible retirement.

🔗 https://lotsmoore.co.uk/

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#Pensions #UKEconomy #InvestmentStrategy #PensionSurplus #FinancePodcast #railpen #ProfessionalInvestment #nest #CharlotteMoore #PensionFunds

In this episode of The Professional Investment Podcast, host Charlotte Moore talks to Chris Hitchen, chair of Border to Coast Pension Partnership about the UK’s Pension Schemes Bill.Laid in early June, the Pensions Bill is wide-ranging with policies aimed at closed corporate defined benefit schemes, the LGPS and auto-enrolled workplace schemes. These represent ambitious reforms aimed an improving the system and the retirement income of scheme members.Chris and Charlotte unpack the implications of the pensions bill for the LGPS with assets to be consolidated in six pools and the continued focus on local investment. They discuss the advantages of scale and impact this has on relationships with asset managers as well as how diseconomies of scale emerge when a fund becomes too large.The Bill includes a recommendation for auto-enrolled pension schemes to offer a default retirement income. Chris and Charlotte talk about the investment challenges pension providers need to solve to ensure members don’t run out of money in their life time as well as the operational challenges.They also welcomed a value for money framework but note this will need to be navigated carefully to avoid too great a focus on short-term performance. The government’s ambition to consolidate small pots is also to be welcomed.Finally, Chris and Charlotte discuss the implications of Reform’s strength in the recent local government elections and what implications this will have for pools’ fund selection in the future.ABOUT THE GUEST:Chris HitchenNest Board Member from 1 June 2018 to 31 May 2024Chair, Investment committee from 28 May 2019 to 31 May 2024Chris re-joined the Board in 2018, having previously served from 2010 to 2015. He has over 30 years’ experience in investment and pensions.He is Chair of the Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, investing money for 11 Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pension funds with assets under management totalling £60 billion, and Chair of the £20 billion Nuclear Liabilities Fund, helping to protect future generations from the costs of decommissioning nuclear power stations. Chris also sits on the Board of the Scott Trust Endowment Limited, which backs the Guardian newspaper, and on the Finance and Investment Board of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.For almost twenty years Chris led Railpen, the 350,000-member UK Railways pension system, first as Chief Investment Officer and then as CEO. He also chaired the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) and was the inaugural Chair of the Pensions Quality Mark, raising standards in defined contribution (DC) pensions.With a strong interest in corporate and institutional governance, Chris has served as a board member for the Toronto-based International Centre for Pensions Management and for the UK’s Investor Forum, which promotes strategic dialogue between companies and investors.Chris is an actuary and an honorary fellow of the CFA Society of the UK. ⸻ABOUT THE HOST:Charlotte Moore is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Moore Squared Communications. She has spent almost two decades writing about how the UK’s largest investment organisations allocate their capital for a number of different specialist magazines including Professional Pensions, IPE and MandateWire. She started this podcast to increase understanding of how and why the UK’s £3 trillion pensions industry invests its members’ capital to provide the best possible retirement.🔗 https://lotsmoore.co.uk/⸻#Pensions #UKEconomy #InvestmentStrategy #PensionSurplus #FinancePodcast #Brightwell #ProfessionalInvestment #nest #CharlotteMoore #PensionFunds