Isio experiences strong bulk annuity demand despite macro volatility

Isio, one of the UK’s fastest growing pensions consultancies, has experienced healthy demand for its support on bulk annuity transactions in Q1 2025, despite significant market volatility. Its risk settlement business has grown substantially in recent months and, together with its K3 team, which it acquired in February 2025, has advised on 15 completed transactions so far in 2025.

In Q1 Isio worked with a broad range of schemes from low millions to multi-billons. Notably, several deals transacted by its K3 team were for schemes with assets under £2m, reinforcing that schemes of all sizes can successfully secure insurer engagement with the right approach.

While macroeconomic volatility – including recent market movements linked to US tariff policy – created funding uncertainty for some schemes, Isio has observed strong momentum in the bulk annuity market. It believes heightened uncertainty will help bring discussions on endgame solutions to the fore as sponsors and trustees seek to reduce the risk from future market volatility and to lock in the improved funding levels of maturing DB schemes.

Karen Gainsford, Partner at Isio, commented: “Against a backdrop of market uncertainty, we are seeing strong demand for de-risking, particularly as schemes recognise the opportunity to bank recent funding gains.

“As the only consultancy to have led transactions with every active insurer in the bulk annuity market in 2024, we are uniquely placed to advise across all sizes and complexities of schemes. We’re seeing insurer innovation on illiquid assets in particular improve outcomes for large schemes, while smaller and mid-sized schemes are benefitting from thorough preparation and effective insurer shortlisting.”

Adam Davis, Partner and K3 lead at Isio, added: “This quarter has again demonstrated that micro and small schemes can achieve excellent outcomes if they approach the market in the right way. The transactions we’ve completed show the breadth of insurer appetite and competition at this end of the market, with the transactions being spread across six different insurers.

“We’re seeing very healthy demand for schemes under £100m and in particular, those below £10m, as sponsors prioritise removing pension risk from their balance sheet. With smaller schemes, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, but with the right advice and preparation, they can access competitive pricing and high-quality insurer engagement.”