The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) is to in-source the management of its liability driven investment strategy following the appointment of Trevor Welsh from Aviva Investors.
The £22.6bn lifeboat fund plans to begin moving about 25% of its LDI programme in-house, starting immediately. It currently appoints Blackrock, F&C Asset Management and Legal & General Investment Management to run its LDI strategies.
It added it would increasingly move asset management in-house as assets grew in order to gain greater control and capability.
Welsh takes on the newly-created role of head of LDI in October. He spent 17 years at Aviva, most recently running the LDI strategy for the Aviva Staff Pension Scheme as head of UK sovereign and rates LDI.
His new role will see him join the wider PPF investment team, reporting into chief investment officer, Barry Kenneth.
Kenneth said: “Over time we expect our assets to grow significantly and insourcing will allow us greater control and capability to manage these assets. Taking in-house part of our LDI is a key step in updating our investment model and crucial in helping us meet our funding target and future aspirations. Trevor’s expertise in LDI will be invaluable to our development and I very much look forward to working together.”
Welsh added: “The PPF is entering a hugely exciting phase in its growth as it starts to insource more of its investments and take greater control of the decision making process. I am looking forward to joining their award winning investment team as Head of LDI, and continuing the great work the PPF already does in providing a pensions lifeboat to millions of people in the UK.”
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