Railpen appoints productive assets leader to oversee innovation investments

Diez will be responsible for directing Railpen’s productive asset portfolio, the organisation said, with a “particular emphasis on UK innovation-focused investments”.

Her role will involve coordinating investment work across real estate, infrastructure, and other private market assets.

More than a third of Railpen’s assets are invested in the UK, and it is actively allocating to areas such as Cambridge to support the development of innovation ‘hubs’.

Earlier this year, it hired Emma Goodford from property company Knight Frank  to lead its life sciences and innovation leasing work, with a focus on Railpen’s portfolio of assets that it is building in the Oxford-Cambridge “growth corridor”. 

Anna Rule, director of private markets and real assets at Railpen, said: “Julia’s promotion is based on her experience in investment management and her involvement in advancing innovation and growth. She will take a leading role in supporting our strategy to achieve returns for our members and contribute to the UK economy.”

Diez added: “I’m delighted to take on this role at such an exciting time for UK productive assets. Railpen’s mission to deliver secure, affordable and sustainable futures for members of the railways pension schemes reaches beyond providing financial security in retirement, but considers the world they’ll retire into. An important part of that is a strong, stable economy in the UK.”

Diez joined Railpen in 2017 as a portfolio manager, overseeing a £750m global equity portfolio. She was previously head of transportation research at Berenberg, and has also worked at T Rowe Price, HSBC, Deloitte, and Goldman Sachs.