U.K. master trust The People’s Pension is shifting £28 billion ($34.7 billion) — the bulk of its £32 billion assets — to Amundi and Invesco, which will run the assets with a focus on responsible investment.
The assets will be moved to the managers from State Street Global Advisors by the end of March. SSGA will continue to run the remainder of the portfolio.
The Crawley, England-based defined contribution multiemployer plan, which is the U.K.’s largest commercial master trust, said in a news release that it had appointed the two managers as part of “a major evolution as it continues to grow towards becoming a world class asset owner.”
The £28 billion of assets were recently moved into segregated mandates held by custodian Northern Trust, which the plan said provide it “with greater control, transparency, and flexibility in its investment approach,” the release said.
Amundi will run £20 billion in passive developed markets equities across five regional sleeves covering major countries. The allocation will continue to include climate-focused indexes that are aligned with The People’s Pension’s responsible investment policy. The climate indexes were first put in place in March 2024.
Invesco will manage more than £8 billion in active fixed income, covering sovereign bonds, investment-grade credit and high-yield bonds in the U.K., U.S., Europe and emerging markets. Invesco will also take a net-zero alignment approach, the release added.
The changes follow a review of the master trust’s responsible investment policy, which features stronger expectations of its asset managers. That new policy, published in April last year, set out minimum requirements and ongoing expectations for asset managers, including a commitment to net zero and adequate stewardship resourcing. The trustee warned that relationships would be reviewed if those requirements were not met.
The policy also underlined The People’s Pension’s commitment to industrywide groups including Climate Action 100+. SSGA withdrew from the group early in 2024.
“As one of the fastest-growing asset owners in the U.K., we have a responsibility to deliver strong, sustainable returns for our members and a best-in-class investment strategy,” Dan Mikulskis, CIO at People’s Partnership — the provider of the master trust — said in the release. “Both managers bring exceptional expertise and share our commitment to responsible investment, which is central to our approach.”
Mark Condron, chair of trustees for the master trust, added in the same release that “by selecting Amundi and Invesco, we have chosen to prioritize sustainability, active stewardship and long-term value creation for our near 7 million members.”
A statement provided by an SSGA spokesperson said: “SSGA is focused on providing best-in-class service to our clients and growing our franchise in the U.K. defined contribution market and the other markets we serve. Our business has been expanding in recent years as we form new partnerships, and we have a strong pipeline of opportunities for 2025. We look forward to continuing our work with The People’s Pension on the remaining mandates.”
A spokesperson for The People’s Pension did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.
Amundi has more than €2.2 trillion ($2.27 trillion) in assets under management. Invesco has $1.85 trillion in AUM. SSGA has $4.72 trillion in AUM.
