Mansion House signatories held £11.1bn in UK private markets at year-end

Seventeen UK pension fund signatories to the Mansion House Accord held £11.1bn in UK private markets at the end of last year, according to joint tracking by the Association of British Insurers and Pensions UK. They had also signed deals for a further £3bn of UK private markets allocation.

Private debt and credit made up £0.9bn of the £11.1bn total, behind property and real estate at £8bn and infrastructure at £1.3bn. Property and real estate is almost nine times the size of the private debt and credit allocation. The three named sleeves sum to £10.2bn, leaving £0.9bn of the £11.1bn in categories the published summary does not break out.

The UK holdings represent more than half of the £22bn the signatories have invested in global private markets through defined contribution growth-phase assets.

The accord's stated goal is for signatories to hold 10 per cent of defined contribution pension assets in private markets by 2030, with 5 per cent in UK private markets. The published figures do not include the signatories' total DC asset base, so the gap to the 2030 target cannot be calculated.

The ABI and Pensions UK said signatories have entered new asset manager partnerships, set up private market vehicles or structures, and built in-house investment capability through recruitment and training.

“Firms' strong progress towards their Mansion House commitments is a welcome and important milestone,” said Yvonne Braun, the ABI's director of long-term savings and health and protection policy. She said sustaining momentum will depend on a strong pipeline of investable opportunities and a shift across the workplace pension market away from a narrow focus on cost and towards long-term value for savers.

Signatories reported that the UK pipeline must keep developing to supply the right quantity and quality of opportunities, alongside government support to overcome regulatory barriers.