On the go: Pensions provider Cushon has acquired the manager of the Creative Pension Trust, in a deal that will more than double its customer base and assets under management.
The deal to acquire Creative represents Cushon’s third master trust acquisition in two years and places the company as the UK’s fifth-largest master trust provider, based on the number of employers. The Creative Pension Trust supports 14,500 employers.
Cushon acquired the Salvus master trust in 2020, followed by Northern Ireland’s Workers Pension Trust last year. Earlier this month, Pensions Expert reported that it had hired two bond managers as part of a new investment strategy.
Subject to completion of the deal, Cushon will have more than 400,000 customers and AUM of around £1.7bn. It will have annual inflows of more than £300m.
The transaction was supported by a financing round, with Cushon having raised £61m since 2020. Cushon is not disclosing the value of the deal.
Ben Pollard, Cushon chief executive, said: “Right now, workplace pensions are simply too complicated, boring and disconnected from things people care deeply about. Cushon is here to change that.”
As of March 31 2021, there were 38 authorised master trusts, according to research published by the Pensions Regulator in 2021. These accounted for 18.8m defined contribution members, including hybrid schemes, and more than £52.7bn in assets, excluding hybrid schemes.
Master trust membership has exploded over the past decade. Memberships of non-hybrid DC master trusts increased to just over 18.6m last year, from 270,000 in 2012.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be sealed in the first quarter of this year.
