The £850m (€1.1bn) Merchant Navy Ratings Pension Fund (MNRPF) has hired Towers Watson as its fiduciary manager, further growing the consultancy’s footprint in delegated management.

Towers Watson said in a statement it would offer strategic advice and execute the strategy set out by the MNRPF’s trustees.

It said it had been appointed fiduciary manager after the scheme conducted an independent review of how to amend its governance.

Chris Wagstaff, independent chairman of the MNRPF’s investment committee, said: “After a comprehensive process to identify our investment beliefs and the best governance structure for the fund, we are pleased to have Towers Watson as our fiduciary manager.

“As a result of this approach, we believe we have the governance structures and working arrangements in place to build an investment portfolio consistent with our investment beliefs to deliver optimal fund performance for our members.”

The fund also selected Barnett Waddingham as its independent intermediary, assessing the performance of Towers Watson as fiduciary manager.

The approach is similar to one pursued by the Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund (MNOPF), which in 2010 selected Towers Watson as its delegated CIO.

The appointment eventually led to the hire of Hymans Robertson to introduce a “check and balance element” into the arrangement.

Since hiring Towers Watson, the MNOPF has steadily focused on de-risking, recently completing a buyout of the £1.3bn old section and transferring £1.5bn of longevity risk to a re-insurer. 

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