JP Morgan Worldwide Securities Services has been handed an extra £2.2bn (€3.19bn) in assets by the Royal Mail Pension Plan in the UK .
The transfer comes in a move by the £22bn scheme to “bring all of its segregated assets under one global custodian”, the custodian bank said.
The decision represents a loss for incumbent firm Schroders, which would not comment. JP Morgan has been global custodian for the fund since 1999.
“We were delighted that a valued client like Royal Mail Pension Plan has consolidated this additional £2.2bn of assets with us,” said Richard Warne, head of relationship management at JP Morgan WSS in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
“We will continue to provide them with the top service we bring to all of our clients.”
But it was not all good news for JP Moragn as the £1.15bn (€1.7bn) North Yorkshire Pension Fund has axed the bank as global custodian. This followed s a competitive tendering process, which took place over a six-month period. Consultants Thomas Murray acted as advisers to the scheme, which has 27,987 members.
JP Morgan had serviced the scheme since December 2001, said technical accountant Neil Sellstrom. But he could not comment on the value of the contract nor on which firm had replaced JP Morgan.
This is the fourth loss for JP Morgan recently. It also lost the Railway Pension Trustee Co. and the Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund, as well as Royal London AM business (see story right).
JP Morgan says it has won £30bn of UK pensions business in the last year, and it has 43% of the top 100 pension funds. There’s been “very strong growth in our franchise” a spokesperson said recently.