The Royal National Institute of Blind People's (RNIB) Retirement Benefits Pension Scheme has appointed Schroders Solutions as its fiduciary manager (FM), awarding them a £170m mandate.

The mandate involves a "highly bespoke" solution that meets the scheme's strategic needs, with a specific focus on integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into investment decision-making and aligning them with the sponsor's charitable mission.

Schroders Solutions said it worked extensively with the scheme's trustees to understand their ESG preferences, leading to the creation of a custom-built equity portfolio that excludes companies that derive a material percentage of their revenue from tobacco, given the harmful effects of smoking on eyesight.

Commenting on the deal, RNIB retirement benefits scheme chair, Andrew Evans, said: "We're delighted to appoint Schroders as our fiduciary manager following a highly competitive selection process.

"The firm demonstrated a thorough understanding of the trustees' needs by effectively incorporating our specific ESG beliefs into the scheme's investment strategy."

Schroders Solutions executive chairman, James Barham, added: "This successful mandate win further demonstrates Schroders Solutions' focus on working in partnership with clients to meet their investment objectives.

"We are grateful for the trust placed in us and look forward to working closely with the trustees. Our objective is to be the provider of choice for FM services by offering an end-to-end solution specifically focusing on robust portfolio construction, responsible investing and bespoke service."

Schroders said its investment solution had been used as a springboard to launch a pooled equity fund incorporating a wider range of exclusions and ESG tilts.

Schroders is the largest charity investment manager in the UK, with £12.9bn assets under management across 1,734 charities.

They also operate as FM to 15 pension schemes with charitable organisations as their sponsoring employer.

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