Cushon consolidates Workers Pension Trust in master trust first
The £2.3bn master trust operator has completed the first ever merger of two authorised trusts.
Cushon Master Trust has completed the first full merger of two authorised master trusts, with the consolidation of the Workers Pension Trust.
Cushon acquired Workers – a leading auto-enrolment provider in Northern Ireland – in June 2021, bringing on board 138,000 members. Cushon now oversees approximately £2.3bn in assets.
The company was given the green light to merge the two trusts in June last year by the Pensions Regulator, and members are now being transferred to Cushon’s technology platform. Workers previously operated separately to Cushon Master Trust.
Ben Pollard, founder and CEO of Cushon, said: “Acquiring master trusts is only the first step in the consolidation journey. The real win is merging them to create greater scale which is a good thing for pension savers. This merger is the first of its kind and with it Cushon is creating the blueprint for further industry consolidation.”
Roger Mattingly, chair of the Cushon Master Trust, said the merger was “a first step on the consolidation journey”, and gave the trustees “new opportunities to add value, with the aim of driving better outcomes”.
He added that the trustees were reviewing the master trust’s default strategy and other investment options. Once this process was complete, Mattingly said members of the Workers Pension Trust would see their investments transitioned Cushon’s sustainable investment strategy.
Cushon said the merger was the first instance of two trusts combining since master trust authorisation was introduced in 2018.
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have been openly supportive of consolidation within the master trust sector to improve economies of scale and value for money for members.
TPR and DWP conducted a joint review of the master trust authorisation regime last year and praised ongoing consolidation efforts. In a report, published in November 2023, the government stated: “As master trusts continue to grow in scale, they will become an even greater proposition for employers as they use this scale to develop sophisticated investment strategies, with access to the best expertise, trusteeship and are able to use economies of scale to operate at a low cost.
“We are encouraged by these market dynamics, which we believe can serve in members’ best interests, with the right focus on value over the risks associated with low cost, and effective competition.”
Cushon established its master trust in 2021 when it acquired the Salvus Master Trust and rebranded it. It then acquired Workers in June 2021 and Creative Pension Trust in January 2022.
In a statement, Cushon said it aimed to identify more “future acquisition opportunities” over the next two years.
Other master trusts such as Smart Pension have been active in acquiring smaller trusts in recent years. It acquired Corporate Pensions Trust from financial planning firm Lighthouse Group in 2019, followed by Welplan Pensions Master Trust in 2020 and Ensign Master Trust in 2022.