The growth of the professional trustee market is slowing down as it “matures”, according to a new report from WTW.
The consultancy group’s 2025 Professional Trustee Survey showed an 8% year-on-year increase in the number of professional trustee appointments, but this was down from 11% last year.
WTW said it expected growth to slow further to around 5% over the next three years as defined benefit (DB) pension schemes move towards buyout and wind-up.
However, it also highlighted that professional trustees were increasingly being appointed to defined contribution schemes, and were also involved in the boards of DB superfunds and the Royal Mail’s collective defined contribution scheme.
“We expect all new appointments to have followed a robust process, and to protect savers we have extended our market oversight approach to the 11 largest firms.”
Nausicaa Delfas, TPR
Mustafa Bharmal, director in WTW’s professional trustee group, said: “Following a flurry of appointments over the past few years, rates of growth have started to stabilise as around half of all defined benefit pension schemes now have a professional trustee in place.”
Endgame planning was a key driver of professional trustee appointments, according to the survey. Almost nine in 10 (89%) of firms responding to WTW said this was a reason behind new appointments.
The consultancy indicated that this reflected market dynamics within the DB sector. With pension schemes increasingly well funded and many exploring the bulk annuity market, this is likely to drag on the net growth of the professional trustee space as these appointments cease when schemes transfer to an insurer.
Sole trusteeship continues to grow
There was an 8% increase in the number of sole trustee appointments, WTW’s data showed, but this was similarly down from the previous year. In the 2024 survey, year-on-year growth was 14%.
Sole trustees make up approximately half of all professional trustee appointments, according to WTW. This is typically concentrated in small pension schemes with less than £25m in assets.
However, WTW warned that the transition to sole trusteeship was a crucial point for pension schemes and needed to be approached carefully.
Bharmal said: “Trustees warn that sudden cliff-edge transitions from a board to a sole trustee are to be avoided due to the importance of knowledge transfer and communication between the sponsor, the outgoing board and the incoming sole trustee.”
Over the next three years, sole trustee appointments are expected to continue to grow but at a slower rate of approximately 6%.
WTW’s research surveyed 19 of the largest professional trustee firms during the first quarter of this year, covering more than 2,700 appointments.
The survey is one of the first since the Pensions Regulator (TPR) announced a major engagement initiative with professional trustee firms ahead of beginning to formally regulate the sector later this year.
Nausicaa Delfas, chief executive officer at the Pensions Regulator, said: “Professional trusteeship has experienced huge growth over the last few years, bringing new risks and opportunities. We expect all new appointments to have followed a robust process, and to protect savers we have extended our market oversight approach to the 11 largest firms.”
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