Over the past few days, I’ve been thinking how pension schemes can use scale to
- Improve our wage in retirement
- Improve the economy and the pay for those working
To say it like this makes for an easy way to argue for investment and investment in the things that make Britain a great place to live, work and retire in.
What I’m interested in is scale and I mean the kind of scale achieved by multi employer DB schemes such as USS and LGPS and multi employer DC schemes like People’s and Nest. The talk of assets available to investment must be at or projecting to £100bn and that makes for really interesting venture.
This morning I got really excited to read about a DC scheme I have a tiny share of – the Scheme is Nest and the story is in Professional Pensions, told by the every-young Jonathan Stapleton.
Milestone comes as IFM Investors agrees to buy majority stake in ABP
I was disappointed when I read the announcement by two trade bodies that of the £11bn invested in the UK , only £500m is invested in private equity. Nest Invest’s Elizabeth Fernando has a different priority it seems than many other participants in the Mansion House Accord
“Private equity is a key component of our private markets strategy”
So what does this mean to my £40,000 in Nest?
Nest surpasses £2bn in commitments to HarbourVest PE strategy
We learn why I should be excited
The mandate is designed to give Nest members diversified exposure to private companies globally – providing exposure to more than 60 privately held companies across 17 countries spanning North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific as well as in the UK, where it invests in nine companies across growth equity and buyout strategies and across a range of sectors.
UK investments through the mandate include 9fin, a London-headquartered artificial intelligence-native financial intelligence platform, and Citation, a Cheshire-headquartered provider of tech-enabled compliance and certification solutions.
The HarbourVest-managed mandate forms part of Nest’s broader private equity strategy. As of 30 June 2026, around 5% of Nest’s £68.4bn in assets under management was invested in private equity, including around 18% (£566m) invested in UK private companies.
Hey! That’s a lot more than I’d expected having read that under Mansion House (which Nest) only £500bn is going into UK private equity. If Nest has £68.4bn under management , then its investments should encourage its 14m investors to pay attention to where their money is going. Paul Todd was trying this out with groups of savers recently (I think they’ve got the idea and need encouragement!).
Nest Invest chief investment officer Elizabeth Fernando said:
“Private equity is a key component of our private markets strategy to build a more diversified portfolio and deliver strong risk-adjusted returns for our more than 14 million members over the long term. Since 2022, we have steadily increased our commitments to this private equity mandate managed by HarbourVest, giving our members access to investment opportunities beyond public markets so they can benefit from a diversified portfolio of private assets.
“We are pleased to see the mandate investing in innovative UK-founded and UK-based businesses, including 9fin and Citation, alongside opportunities around the world. These businesses require long-term capital from investors such as pension schemes to support their continued growth. As they scale, we can share in the value they create and the returns they generate for our members.”
HarbourVest managing director Craig MacDonald added:
“Our focus is on finding the most compelling opportunities for Nest’s members wherever they are. Against that global backdrop, the UK continues to stand out as an attractive market, with high-quality businesses and strong potential for long-term value creation. Our investments here demonstrate how UK businesses can form an important part of a globally diversified private equity portfolio.”