Pension schemes want “swift and incisive decisions” from their fiduciary managers against a background of volatile markets and complex solutions, an Aon Hewitt survey has found.
Aon Hewitt, a pensions and investment consultancy, said this requirement for “nimbleness” had jumped from third to first place in its survey of schemes over the past year.
‘Investment expertise’ was cited by 51% of respondents who were asked about the key advantages of fiduciary management – a finding reflecting previous results. But ‘nimbleness jumped from 37% last year to also poll 51% this year.
Aon received responses from 235 defined benefit (DB) schemes controlling about 20% of UK DB assets.
Sion Cole, senior partner and head of European distribution at Aon Hewitt, said: “With trustees more time-pressed than ever on investment matters – 73% spend just five hours or less a quarter on investment – the need for expertise has never been more evident.
“But the past year’s market volatility, mainly driven by uncertainty due to geopolitical events, has also demonstrated the benefits of daily attention and proactivity towards actively managed and therefore changing investment portfolios.”
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