Anna Rule was appointed head of property at RPMI Railpen, said a spokeswoman for the firm, which manages the assets of the £24 billion ($31.2 billion) Railways Pension Scheme, London.
The position is new and Ms. Rule will start early next year, responsible for developing Railpen's in-house real estate investment capabilities, overseeing relationships with external parties.
“Her appointment is an important step in further developing our in-house investment expertise so that we can strengthen our ability to deliver attractive investment returns for our members,” said Richard Williams, investment director at Railpen, in a news release. “(Ms. Rule) will be working closely with Orchard Street Investment Management, Railpen's long-standing partner for property investment.”
RPMI does not provide a breakdown of its asset allocation, the spokeswoman said. However, the Railways Pension Scheme's latest annual report showed a £1.9 billion allocation, about 8%, to real estate as of Dec. 31.
Ms. Rule is a senior director and fund manager at Aviva Investors. She will leave the firm in October, said a statement provided by a spokesman for Aviva Investors. David Diemer, senior director, real estate, “will take overall responsibility for U.K. institutional direct real estate,” added the statement. Mr. Diemer has been at the firm for 12 years, “and has extensive experience of running large real estate mandates.”
