Capital Cranfield Trustees

Paul Watson, a Professional Trustee at Capital Cranfield Trustees, recently spoke to Lynn Strongin Dodds for a PensionsAge article on defined contribution (DC) pension schemes and private assets. As DC schemes are being urged to invest in private markets, how can they achieve this and what are the opportunities and challenges?   You can read the full article from p.64 in the latest Pensions Age issue: https://lnkd.in/eue-qEyr

A big thanks to XPS Group for hosting a great Capital Cranfield Trustees Briefing Day on Monday at The Royal Air Force Club in London – an incredible venue brimming with military history.   Congrats to Nigel Wilmin for organising a very successful event, and to all the speakers from XPS Group and Slaughter and May for their thought-provoking and insightful sessions. XPS’s André Kerr gave a brilliant talk about what he has learned about risk management from his experiences as a former RAF pilot before becoming a pensions consultant.   We heard about run-on versus buyout and other consolidation options from XPS’s Arabella Slinger and Wayne Segers, and Daniel Schaffer of Slaughter & May. We also heard from Mark Searle and Jordan Harrison of XPS about maximising the value of illiquid investments in pensions schemes, and Simeon Willis and Emma Coleman, CFA of XPS gave a State of the Nation update on the current investment outlook.   Thank you all for a great day! 

We are delighted to announce that Anthea Whitton and Kate Grant have joined Capital Cranfield Trustees as Professional Trustees.   Anthea has 25 years of experience advising pension schemes and sponsors having worked at Eversheds, Squire Patton Boggs and Pinsent Masons. Kate's background is in pensions management, benefits and reward, and she was most recently Head of Pensions and Benefits at Vodafone.   Our Managing Director Harus Rai says Anthea and Kate are two exceptional appointments who will fit in well with our existing team and will have rewarding careers with us. Welcome to Capital Cranfield, Anthea and Kate!   Here is the full press release: https://lnkd.in/eiAqGW3t

Matthew Jones, a Professional Trustee at Capital Cranfield Trustees, recently participated in a PensionsAge roundtable to discuss DB end-game planning, including preparing for buyout/buy-in or run-on.   He spoke about the implications of more DB schemes in surplus and the complexities around approaching the use of surplus, as well as the need for good governance around purpose.   You can read the roundtable from p.86 in the Pensions Age July/August issue: https://lnkd.in/eue-qEyr

Michele Hirons-Wood, a Professional Trustee at Capital Cranfield Trustees, will be speaking about outsourced CIO models at the PensionsAge Autumn Conference on 19th September along with BlackRock’s Lara Edmonstone-West PhD CFA CAIA. Michele and Lara will discuss the complex challenges that schemes are facing and look at how an OCIO model can help unlock opportunities and provide effective solutions for trustees. You can register for the conference here: https://lnkd.in/ds-g3Gv #PensionsAgeAutumn

We are delighted that one of our DB pension clients has achieved a £47.5m buy-in with insurer Canada Life for the remaining uninsured members of the Scheme.   Capital Cranfield Trustees' Professional Trustee Kevin Wesbroom who is Chair of Trustees for the Scheme, said that while market movements brought the transaction into sight, it was ultimately a generous cash injection from the Employer that made it possible. He added that getting the deal across the line was a testament to “a real team effort” from the Employer, Trustees and the Scheme’s advisers Gallagher, Osborne Clarke and Aon. You can read the story on Professional Pensions here: https://lnkd.in/emzqRgrU

We are excited to announce that Owen McCrea has joined Capital Cranfield Trustees as Head of Secretarial Services, based in our Nottingham office.   Owen joins us from Coal Pension Trustees where he was their Head of Secretariat. He brings a broad range of experience across administration, risk, governance and secretarial functions, at both in-house roles and with third-party providers. Welcome Owen!   Here is the link to the press release: https://lnkd.in/gEeRRm2T

Capital Cranfield Trustees Managing Director Harus Rai recently spoke to Professional Pensions about the Trustee landscape.   While research suggests lay trustees are planning to leave their roles and it is becoming harder to find people keen to be lay trustees, Harus says there is a huge influx of candidates interested in becoming professional trustees.   Related to this, we have seen a rise in professional corporate sole trusteeship which can be the right option for many schemes but not every scheme, he says.   Commenting on concerns about groupthink arising from the concentration of PT firms, Harus says Capital Cranfield mitigates this by “bringing in trustees from a range of complementary backgrounds, not just the pensions mainstream, to match differing client needs and encourage internal debate from varying perspectives.”   You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/edkQPp73 Holly Roach Professional Pensions

Darren Masters, a Professional Trustee at Capital Cranfield Trustees, speaks about the Chancellor’s pensions review and sustainable investments on an Asset TV UK podcast with Sam Rossiter, Laasya Shekaran of LCP and Simon Kew EPMI of Broadstone.   Darren talks about the implications of the review for the pensions market, the push for investment in UK productive finance, sustainable investments and the green agenda, and pensions adequacy.   You can watch the podcast here: https://lnkd.in/eMdZPJkW  

What do trustees look for in a buyout insurer apart from price? Affordability and pricing are just the start of the conversation about buyout, says Capital Cranfield Trustees Professional Trustee Victoria Gibbard in an article for Rothesay’s 'The Journey to Buy-out 2024' report. She says a range of other factors come into play such as member experience and good administration.   Victoria also looks at how trustees can ensure that insurers are focusing on these important areas and how they relate to pricing.   You can read Victoria’s article on p.20 in the report: https://lnkd.in/exu2CG4d