The World is Watching: Pension Fund Reform

Last week, as Rachel Reeves made her Mansion House Speech about pension fund reform, myself and Amy Abbott, Director of Industry Development, were on a tour of LPs in Toronto, Boston and New York in preparation for the BVCA’s LP roadshow next February (further details of which are below). As we sat in Toronto meeting with a large Canadian pension plan, we were struck by the level of interest there was in the pension fund reforms being announced back in the UK.

A senior LP commented to us “The world is watching what's happening”. Here in the UK, our perspective has for many years been to watch the large North American pension funds take momentous steps in investing in private capital - not the other way around. And in fact, Rachel Reeves is on record as saying Canada provided inspiration for her reforms.

As we continued our discussions, it was clear that they will be paying close attention to whether greater investment by UK pension funds investing in UK private capital will in turn, drive UK growth (and deliver returns to UK savers). This would indeed be a model that encapsulates the epitome of the BVCA's work in recent years...our industry is a partner for growth with Government.

On pensions, there remains much more work to be done, and we will continue to engage with Government as it implements its reforms, including our work with the Pensions and Private Capital Expert Panel which brings together representatives from the pensions and private capital sectors, to address the aims of the Mansion House Compact and the Investment Compact.

This will no doubt figure in conversations at the BVCA's tour of North America in early February. This is a great opportunity for GPs of all strategies, shapes and sizes to get involved in outlining to LPs the opportunities that European private capital represents. The tour is again closely aligned with the UK Government as we work with the Department for Business and Trade to host special receptions as well as conferences each day. If you're interested in joining us, please contact Nicole Walker, Senior Manager, Industry Development.

Authored by Leon de Bono
Managing Director, BVCA