{"id":622806,"date":"2026-06-05T14:46:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T14:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/622806\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T14:46:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T14:46:10","slug":"ipe-uk-briefing-fidelity-and-lg-see-each-default-fund-reach-25bn-aum-analysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/622806\/","title":{"rendered":"IPE UK Briefing: Fidelity and L&G see each default fund reach \u00a325bn AUM | Analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"

In May, two pension providers, Fidelity<\/a> and L&G<\/a>, each announced their default funds reached \u00a325bn in total assets.<\/p>\n

This means the Fidelity FutureWise and L&G\u2019s Lifetime Advantage Funds have already reached the scale envisaged under the UK government\u2019s consolidation agenda, set out in the 2026 Pension Schemes Act, which calls for all defined contribution (DC) multi-employer schemes to operate a main default fund with at least \u00a325bn in assets by 2030.<\/p>\n

The scale requirement is driven by the UK government\u2019s desire to unlock billions in domestic investment, which is set out in the Act. Pension providers have also committed to increasing domestic investment under voluntary agreements \u2013 Mansion House Compact and Mansion House Accord.<\/p>\n

Accord anniversary<\/p>\n

Under the Mansion House Accord, which turned one year old last month, pension providers pledged to invest at least 10% of their DC default funds in private markets by 2030, with 5% of the total allocated to the UK.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the anniversary, James Ashton, chief executive officer of Quoted Companies Alliance (QCA), wrote to the Accord signatories to highlight that small-cap companies have not yet felt the positive impact from the voluntary initiative. In the letter, Ashton asked pension providers what they have done in the last year to explore junior stock markets opportunities in the UK, what, if anything, is stopping them from investing, and what the QCA can do to help.<\/p>\n

Pensions UK has, meanwhile, outlined practical steps to help pension schemes increase investment in UK growth assets<\/a> and improve outcomes for savers. The association said that despite significant policy activity, schemes still face a fragmented landscape with unclear coordination, accountability and routes to investing in UK growth assets.<\/p>\n

While the British Business Bank has made progress in creating investable routes, including through the British Growth Partnership, other institutions need to do more, Pensions UK argued.<\/p>\n

The association called on the government, regulators, public finance institutions and the pensions industry to provide clearer end-to-end pathways linking pension capital to investable UK opportunities. This would require coordinated policy action, scalable investment vehicles and regulation that prioritises value alongside cost.<\/p>\n

Venture capital commitment<\/p>\n

While more needs to be done, there is some progress on the Mansion House commitments. In May, the British Business Bank committed \u00a340m to Lansdowne Capital\u2019s latest fund as part of a \u00a3111m first close. Joining the funding round were also Aviva Investors and Lloyds Banking Group, with an undisclosed commitment.<\/p>\n

The fund will identify high-potential UK companies emerging from the UK\u2019s world-class research base and wider startup ecosystem, supporting them at key value inflection points as they scale up. It will invest across a range of sectors, including healthcare data, quantum computing, natural capital, advanced materials, semiconductors, and defence technology.<\/p>\n

It aligns closely with two of the\u202fBritish Business Bank\u2019s core strategic objectives, both increasing the availability of scale-up capital and mobilising institutional capital into the UK\u2019s innovation economy.\u202f<\/p>\n

Pensions Commission urged to be brave<\/p>\n

The Pensions Commission published its interim report<\/a> on the state of retirement saving in the UK, highlighting that many people are not saving enough for retirement, particularly low and middle earners, the self-employed and women. Without action, the Commission warned, the number of people undersaving for retirement could rise from 15 million to 19 million, leaving large groups across the UK facing a \u201csevere cliff-edge when they retire\u201d.<\/p>\n

While the Commission did not highlight anything that the industry did not already know, it was urged to be \u201cbrave\u201d in its final recommendations to address pensions adequacy, with commentators warning that \u201ctoo much time\u201d has already been spent diagnosing the same problems.<\/p>\n

The government has already ruled out changes to automatic enrolment contribution rates during the current Parliament, which is in place until 2029.<\/p>\n

\"BlackRock<\/p>\n

LTAF launch<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, BlackRock launched a diversified alternative strategies long-term asset fund (LTAF) to broaden DC pension access to private markets. The move is designed to enhance long-term retirement outcomes by complementing public market exposures with assets such as infrastructure, private equity and real estate, and reflects continued momentum across UK workplace pensions to incorporate suitable long-term, less liquid assets into DC default schemes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The LTAF has been seeded by two anchor investments \u2013 the BlackRock UK Retirement Savings Plan and the UK pension scheme of another global financial services firm.<\/p>\n

BlackRock was among the first to launch LTAFs for UK DC schemes, with structures engineered to meet operational, liquidity, valuation and pricing standards required in DC plans. The new LTAF reflects learnings from global private market programmes and is calibrated specifically for UK DC pension needs.<\/p>\n

Items to note:<\/p>\n

Pamela Kokoszka<\/p>\n

UK Correspondent<\/p>\n

This newsletter was e-mailed to readers earlier in the week. If you would like to receive it regularly, on your IPE profile, go to My Newsletters<\/a> and select any from the list.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In May, two pension providers, Fidelity and L&G, each announced their default funds reached \u00a325bn in total assets.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":622807,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-622806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=622806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622806\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/622807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=622806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=622806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=622806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}