Helping a multinational parent streamline the management of its UK pension schemes

Our client, a global pharmaceuticals group, employs tens of thousands of people across dozens of international markets. Isio had been appointed to a smaller business’s scheme which was then acquired by the group.

The Challenge

Impressed by our successful stewardship of that scheme, the group asked Isio and Entrust to run their significantly larger parent scheme.

The scheme was operationally compliant but lacked long-term and strategic direction. There was also a sense of detachment for the sponsor when key decisions were made, and several other stakeholder groups required involvement and management too.

What we did

Our proven approach, centred on the Enplan Pension Platform, was two-fold:

• A new, professional trustee governance model was established: Entrust, an independent trustee company, managed the scheme
• Isio delivered all key pensions services: administration, actuarial and investment advisory

By running the two schemes together within Enplan we could:

• Reduce costs: from AMCs to GMP equalisation, the economies of scale of consolidation drove down fees
• Save the client time: financial efficiencies were mirrored in a reduction in management time, as the group needed to contribute to only one strategic scheme discussion, not two
• Simplify and tighten investment strategies

The impact for the Scheme

Thanks to our track record on the smaller scheme, the client could be confident that they were working with a trusted partner that would manage their larger scheme with the same innovation and diligence. As well as simplifying the management process and delivering significant financial efficiencies, we were able to provide consultancy in other areas, such as regulatory developments. Now, the client has two schemes in stronger funding positions than before, meaning more time to focus on running a global business.