Nest Invest receives FCA authorisation

Nest Invest submitted its application for FCA authorisation in September, a decision the pension scheme announced alongside its move into private credit.

Commenting on the FCA’s decision and Nest Invest’s initial application Mark Fawcett, Nest’s Chief Investment Officer, said:

“The FCA has reviewed our application and authorised Nest Invest, further recognition that we have the right people and structures in place.  

“Nest is going to be responsible for more than £400 million new contributions every month. We’re becoming one of the largest players in the UK pension’s market and our investment strategy is evolving to reflect that.

“While setting up Nest Invest is an exciting development, it’s the natural next step for a scheme of our size. We already have the internal expertise in Nest’s investment team to manage the additional responsibilities.”

Having an FCA regulated subsidiary will help Nest implement more sophisticated ways of investing on behalf of its members. These additional investment activities include: 

• Providing regulated advice to Nest’s Board on new investment opportunities
• Enabling Nest to make active decisions on co-investment opportunities in private markets in due course
• Directing fund managers to use derivatives in order to help invest Nest’s cashflows and manage risk efficiently 

Notes to editors

OPS firms undertake investment management on behalf of a trustee or pension scheme and have the ability to manage more complex investment decisions and tasks in-house.

In seeking FCA authorisation for Nest Invest, Nest is following in the footsteps of a number of other large UK pension schemes, including RBS and BT, which have also created OPS firms.