BlackRock wins monumental mandate
BlackRock will be the outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) for $39.9 billion (£21.5 billion) of British Airways Pensions’ assets.
The mandate is for the investment management of Airways Pension Scheme (APS) and New Airways Pension Scheme (NAPS) which serve more than 85,000 members.
Both APS and NAPs where previously managed by British Airways Pension Investment Management (BAPIML).
The choice to externalise the investment management came from increased regulation, operational costs and investment complexity in the UK pension scheme industry.
In addition, the schemes have matured, and the investment needs have changed, requiring an increased focus on managing investments to provide an income that matches members’ pension benefits.
BA Pensions selected BlackRock after a competitive tender process due to its knowledge on UK pensions and scale, investment expertise and risk management technology which are set to maximise value for members.
The mandate follows British Airways Pension being forced to defer more than $820 million in pension payments in February last year after COVID-19 impacted air travel. Prior to the deferment, British Airways Pension was already dealing with a funding shortfall of about $4.39 billion, first identified in 2018 valuations.
Read more @Financial Standard
361 views
