Master trust Smart Pension has named James Lawrence as its new chief investment officer as it aims to hit £10bn in assets this year.
The defined contribution (DC) master trust, which currently has £9bn in assets, announced Lawrence’s promotion in a statement this morning (2 April).
Lawrence was previously Smart’s director of investment proposition, and has worked for the pension fund since 2021. He was previously at Mercer where he worked for nine years, latterly as lead investment strategist for its master trust.
In his new role, Smart said Lawrence would be responsible for designing and running the master trust’s investment strategy, as well as “building innovative solutions” with its investment manager partners. He will also oversee the investment portfolio’s transition to net zero, which Smart aims to complete by 2040.
Another of Lawrence’s responsibilities will be to source private markets assets, with Smart Pension having set a target of £4bn for this allocation by 2030. Smart has invested in private credit since 2021, with the asset class accounting for approximately 5% of its growth fund, and is also actively allocating to renewable energy.
Last summer, Smart Pension announced that it was on track to reach £10bn in assets by the end of 2026. It has been one of the most acquisitive master trusts, bringing on several smaller funds over the past few years.
Most recently, in November, the master trust acquired the WS Stakeholder Pension Scheme, a contract-based DC scheme with £580m in assets.
It took on the Options Workplace Master Trust in 2024 and the Crystal Master Trust in 2023.
In 2022, it acquired the Ensign Master Trust – the auto-enrolment vehicle for the Merchant Navy Officers’ Pension Scheme – and has also onboarded Welplan, Corpad and the Corporate Pensions Trust, among others.
