Regulator’s Chief Executive warns that pension funds must broaden investments or face "robust" action

Nausicaa Delfas, newly-appointed Chief Executive of the Regulator, has warned that UK pension fund trustees must consider increasing the range of their investments, including in start-ups or other illiquid assets, or face “robust” intervention. 

In an interview with the Financial Times, Ms Delfas said that DC pension trustees must consider more complex investments for their savers, suggesting that otherwise such schemes should wind up or consolidate. 

She commented: “Trustees have a duty to savers to act in their best interests. That means properly considering the full range of investment options... The challenge of the last decade was how to get people saving. And now the challenge for us is how do we make sure that they get the right value from their savings.” 

It is unclear how the Regulator plans to monitor trustees’ consideration of such investments and the action it plans to take if a sufficiently broad approach is not taken.