The People’s Pension1 today revealed it has appointed People’s Investment Limited2 (PIL) as the primary investment adviser to the Trustee of the People’s Pension Master Trust. This comes after PIL received authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The UK’s biggest commercial Defined Contribution (DC) pension master trust will now have a dedicated, in-house team producing investment advice and overseeing the assets, built and developed specifically with the needs of the Trustee and members of The People’s Pension in mind.
This announcement comes with the growth of the investment team, overseen by Chief Investment Officer Dan Mikulskis. With 23 investment professionals set to be in place by March, Dan’s team has nearly doubled in size in little over a year. The new hires bring rich experience and expertise across banking, hedge funds, asset management, asset owners and consulting3.
This latest announcement follows the £32 billion Scheme’s recent statement that it has now reached the scale where it is set to begin investing in private markets from later this year. The People’s Pension already invests 14 per cent of its members savings in UK-based assets within its growth stage default fund.
PIL will continue to benefit from the expertise of investment consultants where appropriate, using consulting firms on a project basis with a panel of potential providers.
Mark Condron, Chair of The People’s Pension Board of Trustees, said:
“It has been great to see the development of the investment team within People’s Partnership and we believe we are now at a stage where it is appropriate for the team to take on the primary advisory role to the Trustee.
“We thank Barnett Waddingham for their work in this role for much of the last decade which has helped put the People’s Pension in the strong position it is today and for their support in ensuring a smooth handover as we transition to the new arrangements with the maturing of the investment capability within People’s Partnership.”
Dan Mikulskis said:
“This is an important stepping stone in building the foundations of a world class asset owner, projected to be overseeing £50bn within the next four years.
“Advising our Trustee directly will enable us to find and implement new ideas more efficiently and quickly, leaving additional value in the hands of our members. It will enable us to develop the shared bond between executive and trustee board essential to the long-term success of asset owners.”
Chris Fagan, Chair of The People’s Pension’s Trustee Investment Committee, said:
“I am looking forward to working together with Dan and team extremely closely over coming years to deliver great outcomes for members of the People’s Pension. A close partnership between an investment committee and in-house experts is a key part of creating a great asset owner.”
ENDS
Notes to editor
1. The People’s Pension is provided by People’s Partnership, and is one of the largest independent master trusts in the UK, serving nearly seven million pension savers across the UK and manages more than £32bn in assets. As a business without shareholders, it reinvests its profits with the aim to help customers and achieve better financial outcomes for everyone.
2. PIL is an FCA-regulated subsidiary of People’s Partnership Limited.
3. Recent hires to the investment team have included Phil Butler joining as Deputy CIO from M&G investments, Mark Smith joining as head of Asset Allocation from the Tesco in-house team, Kevin Openshaw as Head of Investment Operations formerly of Mobius life and Cassie Traeger as Stewardship Manager from Columbia Threadneedle. In 2024 co-heads of equity Lara Rodriguez and Lindsay Ireland alongside co-heads of fixed income Chelsea Parandian and Charlotte Vincent joined through the Return Hub bringing background in banking, consulting and hedge funds. Leanne Clements continues to lead the Responsible Investment team bringing many years of experience with asset owners and NGOs.