Smart Pension has signed a commercial agreement with STM Group to take on members of the Options Workplace Pension Trust (OWPT) to the Smart Pension Master Trust through a bulk transfer.
The transfer, which is subject to approval from The Pensions Regulator, will see up to £545m (€649m) in assets under management (AUM) being transferred to the Smart Pension Master Trust.
The transfer of more than 300,000 current OWPT members to the Smart Pensions Master Trust, alongside the merging of assets in August from the recent acquisition of the Crystal Master Trust, will bring Smart Pension’s total assets to £6bn.
The acquisition marks the tenth deal for Smart Pension, which also acquired Evolve Pensions, provider of Crystal Master Trust back in July 2023. It also previously acquired Ensign Master Trust, the Welplan Master Trust, the Corpad Master Trust and Corporate Pensions Trust.
Jamie Fiveash, chief executive officer at Smart, said the latest deal is a “significant milestone” in the provider’s growth strategy and consolidation efforts.
He said: “It’s further proof of how technology can deliver better value for savers and increased efficiencies for employers.”
Explaining why the partnership with STM is the right fit for Smart Group, Fiveash said that STM group has built an “interesting book of business” and Smart already has a “wider partnership arrangement” with the business, with some “really interesting” distribution partners, which Fiveash hopes could mean a “stream of new business” which is “part of the deal”.
He pointed out that Smart has already announced a partnership with Wahed – another one of STM Group’s pension providers earlier in the year.
Earlier in March, Fiveash said that the provider anticipates reaching £10bn in AUM within three years.
Speaking to IPE last July, Fiveash added that he wants Smart Pension to be a consolidator. He disclosed at the time that the provider had an “ongoing conversation” with other schemes to find those that were the right fit” as he believes the number of master trusts in the market will decrease significantly in the next five years.
This is still very much on the agenda, but Fiveash said that looking at the master trust market now, there are some very large ones and some very small ones which have some “intricacies” such as defined benefit (DB) links.
“There’s some complexity there, but we’re working through how some of those things can be overcome. Regulators are keen on consolidation as well so I’m sure that if those master trusts want to come into a bigger master trust, we can finalise a way in which we can make that happen. It’s just a little bit more complicated,” he explained.
Outside of acquisitions, Fiveash said that Smart wants to “move into winning bigger and bigger new schemes”, such as ISS UK, which he said is of “real interest” for Smart’s growth trajectory.
Alan Kentish, CEO of STM Group, added: “For some time, we’ve been impressed by Smart Pension’s globally-recognised technology platform and the company’s dedication to member engagement.
“We’re confident that these create a seamless and successful transition for members to the Smart Pension Master Trust, ensuring our members are in the best of hands for the future.”
TPT acquires Reading Buses DB scheme
TPT Retirement Solutions has consolidated Reading Buses into its DB Complete Master Trust.
The Reading Buses Scheme holds around £50m in assets on behalf of almost 450 members.
Reading Buses chose to consolidate the scheme into TPT’s DB Complete Master Trust due to the expertise and cost-effective solutions it offers. The benefits of joining include an experienced professional trustee board to provide oversight and governance, and access to sophisticated investment solutions that would otherwise be unavailable to the scheme, while reducing the ongoing running costs, it said.
Fiduciary management services for the schemes will be provided by TPT Investment Management (TPTIM).
TPTIM pools assets to generate immediate scale to enable greater exposure to alternative investment assets, such as infrastructure and broader private market assets, as well as TPT’s responsible investment capabilities.
David Lane, CEO of TPT Retirement Solutions, said the acquisition represents an “excellent endorsement” of the consolidation solutions offered by TPT.
“Consolidation typically provides better value for the schemes, and the highest levels of stewardship all with the goal of delivering better outcomes for members,” he said.
Laurence Jenkins, finance director at Reading Buses, said the scheme had been well run by the current trustee board and advisers, however, governance was becoming increasingly onerous, with the costs of running the scheme also increasing.
This, Jenkins said, led to a review into whether there was a more effective and efficient way of running the scheme.
He said: “Following this review, it was clear that there were significant service benefits for the members and investment and cost benefits for the company in moving to TPT’s DB Master Trust.
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