The Pension Superfund, a new defined benefit (DB) consolidation scheme, has promoted head of asset liability management Luke Webster (pictured) to chief executive.
FTAdviser reported yesterday that chief executive Alan Rubenstein, and one of its main investors, Warburg Pincus, were leaving the firm, just a couple of months after its creation.
Mr Rubenstein, who was head of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) until January this year, joined the Pension Superfund in March, when plans were announced to create a vehicle to accept bulk transfers from defined benefit plans and consolidate them into one occupational pension scheme.
At the time, it was announced that he was teaming up with city financier Edi Truell's Disruptive Capital and private equity investor Warburg Pincus to launch the new scheme, which had already lined up an initial £500m of capital.
Warburg Pincus will not continue investing in the company at this stage, but "retains the right to invest in the Pension Superfund as its business grows", a spokesman for the firm said.
Disruptive Capital Finance has confirmed it will take on the funding of the business at this point on an ongoing basis.
According to a statement published on Friday (7 September), Mr Rubenstein and Marc Hommel, head of origination of the firm, will be leaving the business after a short transitional period.
Mr Webster has effectively taken on its role as chief executive, and will lead the firm going forward, which expected to announce its trustees and a range of senior appointments in due course as the business moves into the delivery and execution phase.
Mr Webster, co-founder of the pensions consolidator, is also a partner and chief financial officer of Disruptive capital since August 2017, and chief investment officer of the Greater London Authority, since August 2015.
FTAdviser reported in April that the new consolidator won’t be a solution for distressed plans, as schemes will have to be fully funded before moving to the superfund.
The announcement of the creation of the superfund followed the government's publication of its DB white paper, where it revealed plans to promote consolidation in the DB pension market, in which two thirds of the 5,600 schemes are deemed to have funding shortfalls.
maria.espadinha@ft.com
