News in brief - 24 October 2025

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is set to issue updated data quality guidance in a "few weeks".

The updated guidance was referenced in comments made by TPR pensions dashboards lead, Lucy Stone, during the Pensions UK 2025 annual conference. Stone said that while the industry’s focus on data has improved, it remains largely “project-driven”, often tied to initiatives such as dashboards or de-risking, leading to inconsistent approaches. Given this she called for a shift in mindset among governing bodies, urging them to treat data as a strategic asset rather than an operational afterthought, and to take an active, ongoing role in maintaining quality. In line with this, the forthcoming guidance is expected to expand on TPR’s expectations for schemes, outlining the six key dimensions of data quality, how these should be assessed, and the controls trustees can put in place to ensure continual improvement. Stone said the regulator aimed to “embed data quality as a fundamental part of good governance, not a one-off compliance exercise”.

Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) and PortfolioMetrix have launched a global government bond fund.


The new fund will expand RLAM’s fixed-income offering with a globally diversified strategy designed to navigate ongoing market volatility. Managed by Gareth Hill and Paul Rayner, the new offshore fund builds on the success of the £1bn international government bond fund and is designed to capture opportunities across sovereign markets through active rotation and relative value positioning. RLAM chief client officer, Ed Venner, said the partnership reflected “a shared commitment to building resilient investment solutions”, adding that the fund was “built not just to weather uncertainty, but to thrive in it”. PortfolioMetrix CIO, Alex Funk, said the collaboration had “turned a real portfolio gap into a disciplined fixed income solution”, helping advisers deliver consistent, long-term outcomes for clients across the UK and internationally.

Aviva Investors and Astatine have partnered to create an €800m European industrial energy transition platform.


The initiative will focus on renewable energy and low-carbon infrastructure projects, including solar PV, battery storage, industrial heat pumps and electric vehicle solutions, helping hard-to-abate industries reduce both emissions and costs. The platform launches with a 128MW seed portfolio and more than 500MW of pipeline opportunities, with projects to be developed primarily in Ireland, the UK and continental Europe. Aviva Investors head of infrastructure equity, Angenika Kunne, said the collaboration would “help large energy users decarbonise their operations in a cost-effective way while capturing attractive returns”. Astatine CEO, Tom Marren, added that combining Aviva’s financial strength with Astatine’s technical expertise “would accelerate the delivery of projects to improve energy security and competitiveness across Europe’s industrial base”.



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