The actuarial, administration, and investment advisers
The Trustees have appointed Barnett Waddingham, a leading provider in the market, for the administration, actuarial and investment advice they require to run the Stoneport Pension Scheme. They have entered into a long-term contract with Barnett Waddingham to provide stability and certainty to the schemes joining Stoneport.
Barnett Waddingham were selected for their strong customer focus and commitment to delivering exceptional service, with high quality work as standard, as well as their independence. They have no outside shareholders, and do not run an investment management or fiduciary business. This leaves them free of conflict and truly able to provide unconstrained advice that’s individually tailored to Stoneport’s specific situation.
Stoneport is committed to providing industry best-practice and Barnett Waddingham’s appointment will help ensure member communications and engagement reaches the highest standards that are possible with its scale and resources. Barnett Waddingham employs well over 1,000 staff, with almost 100 specialists in their investment team overseeing some £70 billion of assets.
As well as administering the payment of members’ benefits and carrying out regular valuations of the scheme, Barnett Waddingham will provide the Trustees independent advice on how and where to invest the scheme’s assets.
Award winning, best-in-class expertise
Barnett Waddingham are proud not only to have been ranked top in the Professional Pensions 2020 Administration Survey, but highest in the four most important categories to survey respondents: data accuracy, reliability, good customer service, and technical support.
They are an accredited member of both the Pensions Management Institute, and the Pensions Administration Standards Association. They have won multiple awards for their administration services and continuously rank in the top firms as their 2020 awards attest. They hold a gold rating by independent assessor Investor in Customers (“IIC”) for the quality of their customer service across administration and actuarial and investment consultancy.
Paul Hamilton
Scheme Actuary to the Stoneport Pension Scheme
Paul is a qualified actuary and scheme actuary to the Stoneport Pension Scheme. He has some 25 years’ experience advising on pensions, with a particular expertise on large multi-employer schemes like Stoneport, being Scheme Actuary to another large multi-employer arrangement with over seventy different employers.
Paul is a forward-thinking actuary with a strong desire to make the most of technology to help clients. He has been instrumental in developing Barnett Waddingham’s online tool for trustees and employers alike, to better understand and monitor their pension schemes.
Ian Mills
Lead investment consultant to the Stoneport Pension Scheme
Ian is a highly experienced investment consultant, qualified actuary, and partner at Barnett Waddingham. He will lead the provision of independent investment advice to the Trustees of the Stoneport Pension Scheme.
Ian has a wealth of relevant experience to draw on as the scale of Stoneport grows and the existing investment strategy is moved to a more refined and sophisticated approach, recognising bigger is better, and better governance leads to better outcomes. Whether £15 million or £25 billion in size, he has been responsible for the strategic advice to DB schemes large and small, guiding them on their journeys and tailoring solutions to their unique circumstances.
As an expert in the design and implementation of LDI strategies, as well as head of DB endgame strategy at Barnett Waddingham, Ian is well placed to independently and collaboratively assist the Trustees in setting and implementing their investment choices for achieving Stoneport’s long-term goals, and protecting members’ pensions.
The Trustees are also supported by Stoneport Pensions Management Limited (SPML), who act on their behalf to provide day-to-day support to the employers. You can read more about SPML and Stoneport’s engagement with the employers here.
Working alongside the rest of the Trustees’ advisory team are Baker McKenzie, the longstanding legal advisers. Over the past fifteen months they have guided the Trustees through the work required to establish and agree the legal terms necessary for the Stoneport Pension Scheme to achieve its unique combination of cost and risk reduction, as well as advising the Trustees on their interactions and agreements with the Principal Employer for the wider operational structure of Stoneport.
