In September, Edi Truell’s Pension SuperFund made headlines in the FT as it was reported that the vehicle was “winding down” due to regulator inaction.

However, on 10 October, just a few weeks later, DC pension administrator STM Group was bought by Bidco, a company funded by master vehicle Pension SuperFund (PSF) Capital for the purpose of the acquisition.

The Drawdownclears things up with Truell and finds out what his next plans are regarding consolidating the DC pension funds market, in light of the Mansion House Compact and its plans for DC pension schemes to increase their allocations to private markets by 2030.

Wind up
Separate to PSF Capital, Pension SuperFund was originally set up as a consolidation vehicle to manage the assets and liabilities of company pension funds. Even after five years and regulatory approval barred three times, the fund is not really “winding down”.

Rather, it is being halted until the Prudential Regulation Authority comes up with appropriate rules and regulations for the proper distribution of profit to investors. Truell says the vehicle is ready to zoom ahead upon regulator action.

New frontier
STM Group is a savings and investment administrator that operates across the UK, Gibraltar, Malta, Spain and Australia. Its services include life assurance solutions, QROPS schemes and UK workplace defined contribution schemes via a master trust.

According to Truell, the aim is to acquire access to the personal pensions market, as STM’s licences to provide these products are already set up. Pension SuperFund Capital will absorb approximately 300,000 clients with a total of £7.7bn of assets.

The next step is a question of scale. Truell explains: “We are in talks with large pension fund administrators about taking on the administration of these people’s pensions. Essentially, we will outsource that function. We also plan to reduce the number of managers per asset class. This means we will have fewer pots, if you like, managed more efficiently and with a reduced fee.”

Switching gears
As Truell sets his sights on DC pension consolidation, he comments on the Mansion House Compact and the general desire for workplace pensions to increase exposure to private markets: “In principle, master trusts are a good option, but historically private markets have been avoided because of daily dealings requirements.”

Truell has attempted to solve this with the creation of the Long Term Assets vehicle for pension savers to access asset classes such as infrastructure, sustainable resources and private equity. The Guernsey-based investment company intends to list on the London Stock Exchange in the coming months and aims to improve the liquidity of pension funds by investing in private market assets in exchange for shares.

It seems unlikely the Pension SuperFund will get regulatory approval in 2023. In the meantime, Truell has made a step towards the DC pensions sector on his next consolidation venture. He is certainly not shutting up shop.

There is a lot in the post that I don’t fully understand and I suspect that as a “pension person”, I am on a learning curve about how Truell operates. But I’m beginning to get his modus operandi and hope that in 2024 we will see a lot more of him and his pensions,