Office for Investment key to delivering the government’s megafund ambitions

Commenting on today’s publication of the final report of the Pensions Investment Review, Ian Bell, partner and head of pensions at RSM UK, said: “It is encouraging to see the conclusion of the government’s review, providing the sector with some much-needed clarity on the government’s ambition for pension schemes to contribute and benefit from UK economic growth. That being said, much of the ambition to increase the scale of pension funds and enhance long-term investment with less liquid assets was already in train, driven by the steady consolidation of the DC Master Trust market and the Mansion House Accord. The same could also be said of the pooling that has already occurred in local government schemes.

“The review does, however, highlight that the onus is now on government to provide a better pipeline of investable UK opportunities through reforms in other policy areas. It also acknowledges a key role for the Office for Investment, a body that has existed since 2020, but which must now come to the fore in proactively promoting these opportunities to the pension fund community as and when they become available.”

He added: “Without this, investable UK opportunities may yet find their way into the hands of overseas investors which would undermine the ambition behind this review. While the pensions scheme industry is ready, and has been for some time for these reforms, the government must now deliver and play its part to ensure its megafund ambitions to back UK investment are realised.”