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Latest Investment news
LPPI creates portfolio group to strengthen investment oversight
Local Pensions Partnership Investments has brought together three existing investment teams under a new structure, alongside a dedicated analytics function.
Scottish Widows to invest workplace pension savings in UK technology companies
Scottish Widows is backing British technology companies through a new venture growth mandate, with investments planned in quantum computing, battery technology and healthcare.
Railpen appoints external manager to £1bn global equities mandate
The arrangement will see Robeco operate the mandate alongside Railpen’s existing internal team, mirroring arrangements that the pension scheme already employs in other asset classes.
Budget 2026: Markets sanguine as chancellor errs on side of caution
Financial markets remained sanguine following chancellor John Healey’s Budget speech as he pledged to maintain fiscal discipline and did not reveal any major surprise announcements.
FCA warns private market firms over conflicts of interest
The Financial Conduct Authority has identified weaknesses in how private market firms manage conflicts of interest, warning that controls are failing to keep pace with increasingly complex business models.
Trustees must monitor AI risks building in investment portfolios, says TPR
The Pensions Regulator has published new guidance to assist trustees with identifying and managing “potential hidden AI-related investment exposure”.
Mansion House: DC providers make progress with UK holdings hitting £11bn
The 17 signatories to the Mansion House Accord have allocated 6.6% of total DC growth-phase assets to private markets as of 31 December 2025, according to new data.
Private markets latest
FCA warns private market firms over conflicts of interest
The Financial Conduct Authority has identified weaknesses in how private market firms manage conflicts of interest, warning that controls are failing to keep pace with increasingly complex business models.
Mansion House: DC providers make progress with UK holdings hitting £11bn
The 17 signatories to the Mansion House Accord have allocated 6.6% of total DC growth-phase assets to private markets as of 31 December 2025, according to new data.
UK has an ‘investability problem’, not a pension capital problem
Policymakers must focus on creating attractive investment opportunities rather than setting allocation targets if they want to unlock pension capital for UK private markets, according to PMI chair Ruston Smith.
Lack of opportunities still an issue in private markets, says TPR
Stakeholders surveyed by the regulator identified a lack of investable UK opportunities with the right characteristics as a critical barrier to delivering the ambitions of the Mansion House Accord.
ESG and sustainability
Fiduciary duty: Trustees urged to make best decisions, not ‘least challengeable’
Proposed guidance will not replace or alter the underlying principles of trustees’ fiduciary duty but will instead give trustees more clarity on what they can take into account when making investment decisions.
Climate, liquidity, AI: What investment committees should be thinking about
With two-thirds of 2026 behind us, Pensions Expert asks investment consultants for the key risks and opportunities that should be on trustees’ agendas going into the autumn.
Brunel’s Faith Ward joins LPPI as strategic adviser
She has also launched ‘Faith In RI’, a consultancy service that is also seeking to preserve Brunel’s work on climate and sustainable investment.
Trustees and consultants to collaborate on sustainability issues
The Investment Consultants Sustainability Working Group and the Trustee Sustainability Working Group have pledged to work together on shared sustainability challenges.
Railpen: Focused engagement strategies key to stewardship success
At a recent industry conference, Matt Lomas from the industry-wide pension scheme set out how his team has adapted and honed its stewardship and engagement activities.
Nest backs climate tech through £200m commitment to IFM mandate
The UK master trust has put more money to work through its partnership with IFM Investors, seeding an infrastructure credit fund with a focus on climate technologies.
Artificial intelligence news
The questions every trustee must ask about AI use in pensions
Trustees and scheme managers must understand which artificial intelligence (AI) systems their scheme and service providers use and be able to answer a range of questions about them, the regulator has said.
Trustees must monitor AI risks building in investment portfolios, says TPR
The Pensions Regulator has published new guidance to assist trustees with identifying and managing “potential hidden AI-related investment exposure”.
In Depth: How trustees can manage AI risks in their schemes
The Pensions Regulator has set out six core principles for AI governance ahead of detailed guidance to be published later this year. Nick Reeve explores what these are and what they mean for governance processes.
Consultants news
Special report: Which companies are driving bulk annuity activity?
Pensions Expert analysis shows which law firms, professional trustees and consultants are most active in the bulk annuity market.
Trustees and consultants to collaborate on sustainability issues
The Investment Consultants Sustainability Working Group and the Trustee Sustainability Working Group have pledged to work together on shared sustainability challenges.
Sustainability and climate expectations rising for investment consultants
The Investment Consultants Sustainability Working Group (ICSWG) has found that climate-related advisory capabilities, which were once viewed as aspirational, are now considered standard practice across the investment consulting industry.