Smart Pension, one of the UK’s workplace pension providers, has acquired WS Stakeholder Pension Scheme from Waystone Management, bringing in £580m (€658m) in assets under management (AUM).
The acquisition of the stakeholder scheme by a defined contribution (DC) master trust is the first of a new wave of potential consolidations and paves the way for further similar contract-to-trust consolidations, Smart Pension claimed.
Under the UK government’s consolidation plans, most DC pension schemes will have to have a “main scale default arrangement” of at least £25bn in AUM by 2030.
The acquisition brings Smart Pension’s total AUM to over £8.5bn, making it the eighth largest DC master trust in the UK.
Smart Pension has already consolidated 10 master trusts, including the Crystal Master Trust, Ensign Master Trust, the Welplan Master Trust, the Corpad Master Trust and Corporate Pensions Trust.
It confirmed it is set to rise to over £10bn in AUM in the first half of 2026 due to further growth and consolidations. This includes up to 300,000 members and assets from the consolidation of Options Master Trust, expected to transfer to Smart Pension in the coming weeks after an agreement was announced between the parties in July 2024.
Jamie Fiveash, Smart UK’s chief executive officer, said: “This latest deal is a significant milestone in our growth strategy and consolidation efforts. It’s further proof of how our technology enables us to consolidate schemes of all types across trust and now contract-based pensions.”
Fiveash added that the master trust is on track to achieve a £10bn AUM milestone in the first half of the next year, through secured acquisitions, new business and member regular contribution flow.
He said: “This, alongside a rapidly changing and consolidating market, makes us incredibly excited for the years ahead.”
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