​​We believe that this will lead to better investment returns and ultimately better member outcomes, through having more control over investments and lower costs. 

 We invest directly ourselves in assets that we expect to have a long-term place in our portfolio, where it is cost-efficient to do so and where we are confident that we have the necessary expertise.

For example, we now manage all £2.5 billion of our government bonds internally, and approximately two-thirds of the schemes’ £12.5 billion equity allocation is managed in-house.

Since 2018 we now manage our £2 billion commercial property portfolio in-house. The team have already made significant progress in enhancing value through asset management (new lettings, rent reviews, etc.).

We have also purchased several attractive assets that fit our property investment themes of economically, socially and physically relevant buildings where people want to live, work and play.

A recent example is the purchase of 2 Colmore Square and Cannon House, close to the new HS2 Curzon Street Station, and Birmingham’s largest office investment deal of the year to date when it purchased.