Marija Simpraga and Raymond Wright were appointed co-heads of real assets for The People’s Pension, Crawley, England.
Simpraga and Wright will lead the defined contribution multiemployer master trust’s foray into private markets, which is set to include a significant investment in the U.K., the more than £30 billion ($39.2 billion) plan said in a statement. The plan said in January it was looking to allocate up to £4 billion to private markets by 2030.
“This marks an important milestone in the ongoing expansion of the investment team for The People’s Pension, which has nearly doubled in size in just over a year,” CIO Dan Mikulskis said in the statement. “Their expertise will enable us to ensure we get the best value for our 7 million members in an area which presents an exciting opportunity.”
Simpraga led private infrastructure research at Legal & General Investment Management, focusing on European clean energy and digital infrastructure, the statement said. The firm is in the process of identifying a successor, a spokesman said.
Wright was a private markets portfolio manager at the £51 billion London CIV, a local government pension scheme pool. Details on any replacement could not immediately be learned.
