Cushon says providers must now commit capital
The conversation about private market investment now needs to move to commitment, NatWest Cushon says.
Yesterday, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) reported that holdings in unlisted equities among the 11 signatories of the Mansion House Compact had hit £1.6bn – up from £800m last year. It said this represented a growth in exposure from 0.36% to 0.6% of the providers' defined contribution (DC) default funds.
NatWest Cushon head of investment strategy Rahil Ram said the job now is about the commitment of assets.
He said: "The Compact's vision will be realised once words turn into capital and capital turns into impact. We now have 11% allocated to private markets in the growth phase of our default fund, with a further 2% committed and a further 2% planned. We are continually working on our pipeline of investments that offer growth and diversification for our customers."
Ram added: "Our philosophy is based on making savers' capital work harder and not just grow larger. If even a modest portion of the UK's DC assets were invested in productive finance, the impact would be transformative for the economy and for savers' long-term wealth.
"This is about shifting from conversation to commitment of assets. We're working with the British Business Bank and Future Planet Capital on developing private market products, we were one of the first master trusts to invest into natural capital, and we seeded the very first LTAF with Schroders. This is a really exciting time for pensions and there's so much potential to invest in impactful, engaging opportunities for our customers."
