LifeSight, the £24bn master trust by consultancy WTW, has committed to invest £450m in the Schroders Greencoat Global Renewables+ Long-Term Asset Fund, with potential for additional investments in the future.   

WTW said the strategy will form part of defined contribution provider LifeSight’s core default funds, where the majority of its 430,000 members are invested. LifeSight's clients include firms such as De La Rue, Ricardo and Vodafone.

The Schroders Greencoat Global Renewables+ LTAF invests in renewable energy and energy transition-aligned infrastructure assets in the UK, Europe, US and other OECD countries. The fund targets expected returns slightly above listed equities.  

The LTAF has an environmental objective to deliver positive environmental impact through climate change mitigation by supporting the energy transition. WTW said this is aligned to LifeSight’s 2050 net zero goal.   

Andrew Doyle, lead investment adviser for LifeSight, said the master trust’s scale allows it to access specialist managers and investments.

WTW runs the UK’s fourth largest DC master trust by asset size, eclipsed only by Nest, the People’s Pension and Legal & General. If master trust and group personal pensions assets are taken together, LifeSight ranks at number seven, a recent comparison of DC providers' scale and performance by Hymans Robertson suggests. LifeSight has had above average three-year annualised returns according to this.

 

“This strategic investment underscores LifeSight's commitment to sustainable and responsible investing, aligning with global efforts to transition to renewable energy sources, with the aim of delivering strong pension outcomes for members. It also supports our efforts to invest in UK private markets, which is aligned with the recent Mansion House Accord,” Doyle said.   

Tatiana Zervos, portfolio manager at Schroders Greencoat, called LifeSight’s investment “a significant step forward in the DC market’s efforts to support the transformation of the energy system in the UK and beyond”.  

“These assets not only offer attractive and diversifying returns relative to investments traditionally offered to DC members, but also provide transparent and tangible sustainability benefits, offering DC members the opportunity to play their part in abating carbon emissions, contribute to energy security and help control the costs paid by consumers,” Zervos said.   

The infrastructure commitment was welcomed by pensions minister Torsten Bell, who said: “Working together, government and industry will deliver the investment our future prosperity depends on, supporting better outcomes for savers and faster growth for Britain.”   

LifeSight signed the Mansion House Accord in May this year, committing to invest 10% of growth assets in unlisted private markets, half of this in the UK, if suitable opportunities are available. 

In 2023, the predecessor of the Accord, the Mansion House Compact, proposed a 5% exposure to private markets in default funds, though commitments were lacking until recently. However, in January this year, the People's Pension revealed plans to invest £4bn in private markets, and in March, Scottish Widows announced it was giving its largest default fund a tilt towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals and aiming to build private market investments into the strategy. In April , Aegon UK said 700,000 savers in its largest default would get access to private markets through LTAFs managed by Aegon Asset Management, BlackRock and JP Morgan Asset Management, while last month, Now Pensions highlighted its first investment in private markets with an allocation to UK affordable housing.