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Smart Pension completes 10th acquisition, boosting AUM to £6bn | News

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Smart Pension has signed a commercial agreement with STM Group to accept members of the Options Workplace Pension Trust (OWPT) into the Smart Pension Master Trust via a bulk transfer.

The transfer, which is subject to approval by The Pensions Regulator, will result in assets under management (AUM) of up to £545m (€649m) being transferred to the Smart Pension Master Trust.

The transfer of over 300,000 current OWPT members to Smart Pensions Master Trust, plus the merger of assets in August from the recent acquisition of Crystal Master Trust, will increase Smart Pension’s total asset value to £6bn.

The acquisition is the tenth for Smart Pension, which also acquired Evolve Pensions, provider of Crystal Master Trust, in July 2023. The company previously acquired Ensign Master Trust, Welplan Master Trust, Corpad Master Trust and Corporate Pensions Trust.

Jamie Fiveash, CEO of Smart, said the latest deal was a “significant milestone” in the supplier’s growth strategy and consolidation efforts.

He said: “This is further evidence that technology can deliver greater value for savers and greater efficiency for employers.”

Explaining why the partnership with STM is the right fit for Smart Group, Fiveash said that STM Group has built an “interesting customer base” and Smart already has a “broader partnership arrangement” with the company, with some “really interesting” channel partners, which Fiveash hopes could mean a “stream of new customers” that is “part of the deal”.

He stressed that Smart had already announced a partnership with Wahed – another STM Group pension provider – at the beginning of the year.

Earlier in March, Fiveash said the provider expected to reach £10bn in assets under management within three years.

Speaking to IPE in July last year, Fiveash added that he wanted Smart Pension to be a consolidator. He revealed at the time that the provider was “in constant conversation” with other schemes to find those that would be suitable, as he believed the number of master trusts on the market would significantly reduce over the next five years.

The issue is still very much on the table, but Fiveash said that if you look at the master trust market today, there are very large and very small trusts that have some “complexities” such as defined benefit (DB) links.

“There is some complexity there, but we are working on how we can overcome some of those issues. Regulators are also interested in consolidation, so I am sure if these trusts want to fold into a larger trust, we can finalize how we can do that. It is just a little more complicated,” he explained.

Fiveash said that, beyond acquisitions, Smart is looking to “acquire increasingly larger new projects” such as ISS UK, which he believes is “really interesting” for Smart’s growth trajectory.

Alan Kentish, CEO of STM Group, added: “We have been impressed for some time by Smart Pension’s globally recognised technology platform and its commitment to member engagement.

“We are confident that this will make the transition of members to Smart Pension Master Trust smooth and successful and that our members will be in the best hands going forward.”

TPT takes over DB Reading Buses scheme

TPT Retirement Solutions has added Reading Buses to its DB Complete Master Trust.

The Reading Buses Scheme has assets of around £50 million belonging to almost 450 members.

Reading Buses has chosen to consolidate the scheme with DB Complete Master Trust TPT due to the experience and cost-effective solutions it offers. Benefits of joining include an experienced professional board of trustees who will provide oversight and governance, as well as access to advanced investment solutions that would otherwise be unavailable to the scheme, while reducing ongoing operating costs, it said.

Fiduciary management services for the schemes will be provided by TPT Investment Management (TPTIM).

TPTIM combines assets to create immediate scale enabling greater exposure to alternative investment assets such as infrastructure and broader private market assets, as well as TPT’s responsible investment opportunities.

David Lane, CEO of TPT Retirement Solutions, said the acquisition is a “perfect validation” of TPT’s consolidation solutions.

“Consolidation typically delivers greater value to schemes and the highest level of governance, all with the aim of delivering better outcomes for members,” he said.

Laurence Jenkins, finance director at Reading Buses, said the current board of trustees and advisers were running the scheme well, but management was becoming increasingly burdensome and the costs of running the scheme were also rising.

This, Jenkins said, led to consideration of whether there was a more effective and efficient way to run the program.

He said: “Following a review, it became clear that switching to a DB Master Trust TPT trust would deliver significant benefits in terms of service to members and investment and financial benefits to the business.

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