Schroders has expanded its fiduciary management team, citing growth in the average size of pension schemes that were outsourcing their assets.
The firm has appointed David Thomas, former head of fiduciary management sales for UK institutional clients at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
The newly created role at Schroders sees Thomas becoming a specialist business development director.
Schroders fiduciary team earlier this year won a fiduciary management mandate for the pension fund of Howard de Walden, a property management firm in London, and said it was focusing on growing this area of business.
The firm highlighted a recent survey by investment adviser IC Select that found the average size of a pension scheme taking on a fiduciary manager had increased by nearly 80% during the first half of 2021. On average, schemes with £270 million (€315 million) of assets were outsourcing to fiduciary managers over the six months to June 30, 2021. This was an increase of £120 million against the average figure over the preceding five years, which stood at roughly £150 million.
Earlier this year, XPS Pensions Group research found most fiduciary managers were not properly incorporating ESG risks into investments, despite trustee support for ESG investing.
Thomas reports to Claire Glennon, Schroders co-head of UK and Ireland institutional.
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