BT Pension Scheme picks new chief to succeed Naylor

BT Pension Scheme Management (BTPSM) has named Wyn Francis as chief investment officer to succeed Frank Naylor, who is retiring on 30 June after 16 years.

Naylor will remain with BTPSM working towards completing a range of key projects before his retirement, the firm announced.

Francis joined BTPSM in 2008 as head of investment risk; in 2014 he became deputy CIO responsible for portfolio implementation, including manager selection and oversight of the in-house managed liability-driven investment (LDI) portfolio, working with Naylor on portfolio construction.

Prior to joining BTPSM, Francis spent 10 years as a consulting director at PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG, where he managed the teams responsible for providing market and trading risk management advice to clients including asset managers, hedge funds and sovereign wealth funds, it said.

Naylor will remain with BTPSM working towards completing a range of key projects before his retirement, a spokeswoman told IPE.

Morten Nilsson, CEO for BTPSM, said: “Wyn is uniquely placed to take the reins as CIO and has unparalleled knowledge of the unique challenges facing the scheme. We thank Frank for his long service to the scheme, for his significant contribution over the years and for his expertise, calm head and wise counsel.”

Francis added: “Having worked alongside Frank for many years, I am delighted to be succeeding him as CIO. There are exciting times ahead for BTPSM as we work towards achieving our net-zero goal, continue to build on our successful investment approach and transition towards an income generating portfolio with a strong focus on sustainable investments.”

BT Pension Scheme (BTPS) is the UK’s largest company pension scheme with more than £57bn (€52.6) in assets and around 280,000 members. BTPSM is its in-house management company, 100% owned by the trustee that provides investment, advisory, member administration, operational and secretariat services solely for the scheme.

Last summer the scheme hired Victoria Barron as head of sustainable investment, a new role, and three months later it announced a 2035 net-zero emissions goal, with its chair Otto Thoresen saying it was an ambitious move but that it believed “the time to act is now”.

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