Barnett Waddingham rolls out new service to help trustees track investment strategy

Barnett Waddingham has unveiled a new monitoring service designed to transform how defined benefit (DB) pension scheme trustees and sponsors track and manage their investment strategy.

Lighthouse, the new service, is a smarter, more responsive way to monitor investments, the consultancy said, adding that the service goes beyond static reporting cycles, focusing on ongoing oversight, empowering trustees and decision-makers to make informed decisions quickly.

The firm said the new service replaces the traditional quarterly reporting cycle with an interactive online dashboard, alerting Barnett Waddingham consultants when elements of a pension fund’s strategy and implementation move outside pre-set tolerances.

This coverage is extensive, including factors such as manager performance, asset allocation, hedging, collateral, funding, liquidity and manager ratings.

Barnett Waddingham stressed that Lighthouse is not a substitute for advice,noting that consultants remain “fully responsible” for analysing data, interpreting alerts, and advising clients on the appropriate course of action.

It added that Lighthouse has been built with pension schemes in mind, with key features including:

• ongoing monitoring of funding level, asset allocation, manager ratings, and hedging positions;
• push notifications to highlight areas requiring attention;
• trustees can access current data any time via the Illuminate platform;
• consultants use up-to-date dashboards rather than out-of-date report packs.

Ian Mills, partner and head of DB endgame strategy at Barnett Waddingham, said that for too long, trustees have had to rely on backwards-looking reports to make forward-looking decisions.

“Lighthouse brings investment monitoring into the present, delivering timely insights that are genuinely useful for decision-making. While individual savers have benefited from real-time online tools for years, institutional investors, including pension schemes, have often lagged behind.”

“Lighthouse helps close that gap and allows our clients to be more proactive, informed and in control,” he said.

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