The People's Pension has appointed People's Investment Limited (PIL) as the primary investment adviser to the trustee of its defined contribution (DC) master trust.

The appointment of PIL, a Financial Conduct Authority-regulated subsidiary of People’s Partnership, means that the master trust will now have a dedicated, in-house team producing investment advice and overseeing its assets, built with the needs of the trustee and members of The People’s Pension in mind. 

The group has also grown its investment team ahead of this, with 23 investment professionals set to be in place by March.

However, it confirmed that PIL will still benefit from the expertise of investment consultants where appropriate, using consulting firms on a project basis with a panel of potential providers. 

The People's Pension also recently announced plans to invest a "significant" proportion of its assets into private markets later this year, having previously confirmed that it had reached the "necessary scale", as well as developing the in-house capabilities that are needed, to invest in assets such as infrastructure and real estate.

Commenting on the appointment of PIL, The People's Pension board of trustees, Mark Condron, said: “It has been great to see the development of the investment team within People’s Partnership and we believe we are now at a stage where it is appropriate for the team to take on the primary advisory role to the trustee.  

“We thank Barnett Waddingham for their work in this role for much of the last decade which has helped put The People’s Pension in the strong position it is today and for their support in ensuring a smooth handover as we transition to the new arrangements with the maturing of the investment capability within People’s Partnership.” 

Adding to this, People's Partnership chief investment officer, Dan Mikulskis, said: “This is an important stepping stone in building the foundations of a world class asset owner, projected to be overseeing £50bn within the next four years. 

“Advising our trustee directly will enable us to find and implement new ideas more efficiently and quickly, leaving additional value in the hands of our members. It will enable us to develop the shared bond between executive and trustee board essential to the long-term success of asset owners.” 

The People's Pension Trustee Investment Committee chair, Chris Fagan, added: “I am looking forward to working together with Dan and team extremely closely over coming years to deliver great outcomes for members of The People’s Pension.

"A close partnership between an investment committee and in-house experts is a key part of creating a great asset owner.”

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