TPT Retirement Solutions has positioned its proposed superfund as an alternative route to delivering the government’s productive finance ambitions, arguing that the model allows defined benefit (DB) schemes to continue investing in long-term growth assets rather than transitioning into insurance buyout.
TPT’s run-on superfund would maintain a long-term investment horizon, allowing it to keep around 30% of assets in growth investment, including infrastructure and private credit, rather than shifting predominantly into Gilts and cash.
Investment director Peter Smith said the approach would enable DB schemes to play a greater role in supporting the government’s productive finance agenda.
“I think DB’s been the forgotten child because the focus on de-risking and moving to buyout ultimately means buying Gilts,” he said. Adding: “It doesn’t help invest in the UK economy.”
Smith said TPT’s existing investment platform, which manages around £7bn (€8.2bn) of DB assets, means the provider already has diversified exposure to private markets and does not need to build a new investment capability from scratch.
He added that increasing scale through superfund transactions would allow TPT to expand co-investment opportunities in private markets, reducing investment costs while broadening access to infrastructure and private credit opportunities.
This comes as the government continues to encourage pension funds to allocate more capital to productive UK assets. While much of the debate has focused on defined contribution schemes, TPT argued that superfunds could also help preserve long-term investment within the DB market by providing an alternative to insurance buyout.
Head of proposition, origination and execution, Steve Collins, said the provider’s pipeline of prospective transactions was encouraging, with more than 10 schemes in the pipeline and two in pricing discussions.
The provider has already secured enough capital to complete around £1.5bn of superfund transactions in the first three years, targeting schemes between £50m and £500m.
TPT is aiming to launch its first superfund transaction in early 2027, pending authorisation from the Pensions Regulator.
