The Royal National Institute of Blind (RNIB) People Retirement Benefits Pension Scheme has selected Schroders Solutions as fiduciary manager for its £170m of assets.
The mandate involves a “highly bespoke” solution that meets the scheme’s strategic needs, with a focus on integrating ESG factors into investment decision-making and aligning with the plan sponsor’s charitable mission.
Schroders worked extensively with the trustees to understand its ESG preferences and created a custom-built equity portfolio excluding companies that derive a material percentage of their revenue from tobacco given the harmful effects of smoking on eyesight.
Schroders said its investment solution has been used as a springboard to launch a pooled equity fund for other fiduciary management clients. The solution follows Schroders’ fiduciary management process but incorporates a wider range of exclusions and ESG tilts, the manager said.
Andrew Evans, chair of RNIB Retirement Benefits Pension Scheme, said that Schroders demonstrated a “thorough understanding” of the trustees’ needs by “effectively incorporating its specific ESG beliefs into the scheme’s investment strategy”.
Stuart Fox, RNIB’s chief financial officer, added that Schroders’ sustainability capabilities have been crucial in aligning “our portfolio with our long-term objectives, and the overall mission of RNIB”.
James Barham, executive chair of Schroders Solutions, said the mandate win “further demonstrates Schroders Solutions’ focus on working in partnership with clients to meet their investment objectives.”
The mandate, whose assets have been successfully onboarded, further builds on Schroders Solution’s “strong momentum”, having been awarded a £1bn fiduciary management mandate by Merchant Navy Ratings Pension Fund last year.
Barham added: “Our objective is to be the provider of choice for [fiduciary management] services by offering an end-to-end solution with a specific focus on robust portfolio construction, responsible investing and bespoke service.”
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Pamela is IPE's UK correspondent.
Before joining IPE in May 2023, she spent five years writing about the insurance industry.
During her career so far she won awards for Most Promising Newcomer in 2020 and Best Investigative Article in 2022 from the British Insurance Brokers Association, and was also highly commended at the WTW Media Awards for Insurance Features Journalist of The Year.View full Profile
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