Pension investment has been all the rage recently, and at the Association of British Insurers (ABI) we welcome the focus on increasing investment opportunities for schemes. Although, like others, we were wary of a confused narrative and mixed evidence leading to market-shifting changes.

Shortly before the Chancellor’s Mansion House speech we published our report ‘Investing in our future: delivering for savers and the economy’.

We set out how pensions are invested and why, plus recommendations to facilitate investment in more productive assets to continue to build a thriving society and help move towards net zero.

Most importantly, we argued that any approach to increase investment in growth assets should put savers’ interests first, and we were glad the Chancellor’s first golden rule was to seek to secure the best possible outcomes for pension savers.

The key challenge to defined contribution schemes investing in productive assets is the over-focus on cost rather than value, and we fully support the work by the government and regulators on a framework to address that.

But we’ve suggested going further to ensure long-term value is embedded in the advice that employers receive when choosing schemes.

The government should also learn from initiatives that pool funds, such as Long-term Investment For Technology and Science, and we highlighted that regulation must make it as easy as possible to invest in illiquid assets - which we’ll work with the Financial Conduct Authority on.

Overall, the government’s ambition needs a measured, collaborative and long-term approach.

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