The trustees of the £2.6bn Lafarge UK Pension Plan have appointed Towers Watson as a fiduciary manager.
The appointment is among the largest so far in the UK fiduciary management market and follows an extensive tender process undertaken by the scheme trustees of the building materials supplier and advised on by the investment advisory team at KPMG.
Lafarge UK Pension Plan trustee chairman Norman Braithwaite said: “As a result of the thorough process we followed, we now have governance structures and working arrangements in place which we are confident will deliver our funding and investment performance goals in the best interests of all our members and stakeholders.”
Towers Watson EMEA head of investment Chris Ford said: “We are delighted to have been appointed by the Lafarge UK Pension Plan as their fiduciary manager and look forward to working closely with them to unlock the value we believe is intrinsic in this approach.”
KPMG has also been selected to perform the role of independent monitor of Towers Watson after a competitive tender of the monitoring services.
KPMG head of investment advisory Patrick McCoy said: “We believe that Lafarge’s approach to fiduciary management – enlisting a third-party to undertake an objective review and ultimately advise on an appointment – is an industry benchmark for any other pension scheme seeking to review its governance structures. We look forward to working with Lafarge in our monitoring role of Towers Watson’s performance.”
The trustees were advised on the legal aspects of the appointment by Sacker & Partners.
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