Schroders chairman: We don’t support investment mandation
An executive chairman at Schroders Solutions said the company does not support mandating private markets investment in UK workplace pension schemes.
Earlier this year, 17 of the UK’s biggest workplace pension schemes signed a voluntary agreement, known as the Mansion House Accord, to allocate at least 10 per cent of their defined contribution (DC) default funds into private markets, with five per cent allocated to UK private markets, assuming a sufficient supply of suitable investible assets for providers.
Read more: Pension firms pledge to invest 10pc in private markets by 2030
However, the UK government has included a reserve power that will allow it to legally mandate investment targets if this voluntary progress is not sufficient, although this power must be used by the end of 2035, at which point it will expire.
Speaking at a roundtable event in London, attended by Alternative Credit Investor, James Barham, executive chairman at Schroders Solutions, said the company does not believe mandation by the government is the right move.
Read more: UK government to force pension schemes to invest in private markets
“Mandation is one of those really emotive issues. At Schroders, we are big investors in the UK market and we strongly believe in the UK economy, but we don’t support investment mandation…it’s not something that we would put our name to,” he said.
He added that from a personal perspective, he would consider accepting a “weaker” form of mandation in return for “reduced bureaucracy” and red tape.
Read more: UK finance industry divided over private markets investment pledge
