Independent trustee firm PAN Group has appointed Mike Roberts to its board. He was previously president of Buck Consultants’ worldwide operations in New York.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
I was a very keen golfer as a kid and I also played the saxophone. So I had two options; a professional golfer or musician. I didn’t turn out to be good enough at either of these. I still play golf now but the saxophone was consigned to the attic a long time ago.
What was your favourite subject at school and why?
I really liked history, I studied 20th century world history at school and I liked the way things were connected and developed over time, and of course they are still relevant to everything that is happening now. I was also deeply interested in the personalities that were prominent in history (I am a big reader of biographies).
What was your first paid role?
When I was at school I worked as a porter in a hotel to earn some extra money. My first experience of customer service and I gained a lot from it.
What led you to a career in investment?
I took a year off before I went to university, mainly because I had no real idea about what career I wanted. During that year I ended up working for the Commercial Union in the pensions and investment area. I really enjoyed the work and so decided to become an actuary.
What are your priorities for this new role?
To continue the excellent trajectory that PAN has had over the past few years of increasing the number of pension schemes that use our services.
What is the biggest hurdle for institutional investors at present?
Clearly it is the construction of an investment portfolio that provides a good level of return in an environment where this will be difficult using the traditional asset classes.
What change would you make to investment legislation/regulation?
A better regulatory framework for fiduciary management. This can be a powerful solution for pension schemes, but some inherent conflicts of interest are holding back pension fund trustees from using it more.
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