UK – Hermes, the pension manager owned by the BT Pension Scheme, has said there is a conflict between the demands for increased trustee professionalism and the requirement for members to nominate 50% of trustees.

“I think there’s a conflict where the government suggested 50-50 trustee membership but at the same time Myners is calling for greater professionalism amongst trustees,” said Hermes Pensions Management’s deputy chief executive Charlie Metcalfe.

Speaking at the IPE Multipensions event in Amsterdam today, Metcalfe said: “If there’s no increase in professionalism, in other words having officers within the board of trustees who are appropriately equipped, the 50-50 idea will make it a greater challenge.”

In September UK pensions minister Alan Johnson put forward proposals to ensure that half of pension scheme trustees are nominated by members, up from a third at present.

Johnson said the change would mean trustee boards would “have a wider range of skills and experiences to draw upon” – but observers at the time said they were "staggered" by the move.

Metcalfe today said that US pension funds are adequately staffed and equipped while UK ones weren’t.

Last month it emerged that the 34 billion-euro BT scheme’s allocation to hedge funds is to be invested via a Guernsey-domiciled offshore vehicle run by Hermes.

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