Imerys UK Pension Fund Trustees Ltd has appointed Aon to provide fiduciary management services for the Imerys Pension Scheme in the UK.
The employer, Imerys Minerals Ltd, specialises in the production and processing of industrial minerals, and has a £550m pension scheme in the UK with nearly 5,900 members.
Prior to its appointment as fiduciary manager, Aon was already the scheme’s actuary and has provided the trustee with investment advice for more than a decade.
In its role as fiduciary manager, Aon will provide implementation services alongside investment advice, including journey planning, with the aim of helping the scheme trustees to continue making better decision.
Aon was selected by Imerys UK Pension Fund Trustees following a competitive tender process.
Vidett professional trustee and Imerys UK Pension Scheme chair of trustees, Edwin Bruce-Gardner, noted that the scheme had eight investment managers and it “became clear” that the time and resources needed to carry out a “dynamic” investment strategy with an in-house team was becoming more onerous due to increasing regulation and investment risk.
“We therefore required greater investment expertise,” he stated. “Fiduciary management was a natural progression.
“After presentations on different approaches from several fiduciary managers, we decided to stay with Aon, which has successfully advised us for many years and which we considered to be the best fit.
“Aon’s approach is a continuation of the diversified and liquid policy previously adopted by the trustee to meet its investment goals, but with Aon taking over all the day-to-day management decisions. This leaves the trustee with more time to concentrate on other matters.
“The new approach gives us access to a wide range of investment options, along with the speed and nimbleness to respond quickly to changes in market conditions and to evolve as we approach full funding. The trustee has full confidence that Aon will be successful in meeting the trustee’s objectives.”
Aon head of UK investment, Maria Johannessen, added: “We have worked with the Imerys scheme for over a decade and it’s great news that we can capitalise on the understanding of the scheme’s needs and objectives that we have built up over that time.
“Our aim is to provide more certainty, lessen the decision-making burden and provide better value to the scheme. All this will also ensure continuity and stability for members and allow the scheme to navigate new forms of volatility with confidence.”