Kempen announces fiduciary mandate win for Uniper UK DB Pension Scheme

10 September 2021

Kempen Capital Management (Kempen), the asset and fiduciary manager, has completed the onboarding of a new GBP 570 million fiduciary management mandate for the Uniper UK DB pension scheme.

The pension scheme appointed Kempen’s fiduciary team following a competitive tendering process which began in December 2020 and completed in May 2021.

The mandate contributes GBP 570 million to Kempen’s total client assets under management which stands at EUR 88.3 billion as at 30 June 2021.

Established in 1903, Kempen operates in the UK, the Netherlands and France. It has played a significant role in the consolidation of Dutch pension schemes and has managed fiduciary mandates in the UK since 2015. The company has strong ESG credentials, which are central to its investment philosophy.

Uniper is an international energy company and one of the largest global power generators with around 12,000 employees in more than 40 countries. The company plans to make its power generation CO2-neutral in Europe by 2035. The pension scheme is part of the wider ESPS group.

Through this full fiduciary management mandate, Kempen will work with the Trustee to implement a collaborative investment strategy and work to achieve the Scheme’s and sponsoring employers’ funding objectives and journey to full funding.

Independent third-party evaluators, including Barnet Waddingham assisted the Scheme with its selection exercises. The advisors on the appointment were Peter Langdon, Professional Trustee at Best Trustees, and Adrian Furnell, Professional Accredited Trustee and Secretary to Trustees at Uniper.

Peter Langdon, Bestrustees, accredited independent Trustee for Uniper DB Pension Scheme, comments:

“It was interesting to see the breadth and variety of approaches to Fiduciary Management and consistently Kempen stood out as being dynamic, flexible to our scheme’s particular attributes and extremely helpful to the, mainly lay, Trustee Board in understanding investment terminology and utilising plain language.

“They were pro-active in training on aspects the Board were unsure of and stressed at all times that the (senior) team we had met through the process would be the team we would work with going forward.

“The Board was unanimous in its confidence that Kempen would be the right partner for our Scheme going forward.”

Nikesh Patel, Head of Investment Strategy at Kempen UK, comments:

“We are delighted that Uniper has selected Kempen to act as its fiduciary manager after a competitive selection process. This mandate is testament to the strength of Kempen’s proposition, our expertise, and the strong track record of our team. We look forward to working with the Scheme to deliver the best possible outcome for its members, delivering customised investment solutions which meet Uniper’s specific needs, particularly regarding responsible investing and ESG.”

Source: Kempen CM