Nest has selected Wellington Management to manage a £3.5bn mandate aimed at enhancing its emerging markets equity strategy.

Nest is moving its emerging markets equity allocation to an active, fundamental, discretionary approach, allowing for more selective investment in companies with strong growth prospects. The move follows an internal review and enables more selective investment in companies with robust environmental, social and governance practices and strong growth potential. The new strategy is expected to hold between 100 and 150 stocks, providing broad diversification across countries and sectors.

Hymans Robertson has hired Craig Payne as principal consultant in its Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Governance, Administration and Projects team.

Payne has 20 years of experience working in the LGPS, specialising in governance and administration and helping funds to make decisions that meet members' needs. Prior to joining Hymans Robertson, he worked at Aon as a director within its Public Sector Pensions Team. Before that, he worked at Wiltshire Pension Fund and Greater Gwent (Torfaen) Pension Fund. In his new role, Payne will be a key member of the Governance and Administration consulting team and provide solutions and support to LGPS funds on critical governance and administration challenges.

WTW has appointed Hazel Kendrick to a newly created head of strategic relationships role, spanning its GB pensions businesses.

Kendrick has worked at WTW since 2007 and held several senior positions at the firm. These include managing director – pensions risk transactions leadership team, senior managing director and global lead relationship manager. Prior to WTW, she worked at Hymans Robertson, Dalgety plc and Alexander Forbes. The role was created in April and, after nearly six months, Kendrick has developed full-time leadership of WTW's external relationships across the professional trustee market, working across the company's core pensions businesses of retirement, investments and outsourcing (pensions administration).

Fiona Tait has joined WPS Advisory as head of advice standards.

Tait has nearly 30 years of financial services experience, including long-term roles with providers Aegon and Royal London. She was most recently employed by specialist retirement adviser Intelligent Pensions, where she helped to shape their current advice proposition. She is also a three-time past president of the local institute of the Chartered Insurance Institute in Edinburgh, a member of the Retirement Income Taskforce and a governor of the Pensions Policy Institute. In her new role at WPS Advisory, Tait will oversee and develop advice standards across the business, while helping shape the firm’s client service.

Railpen has appointed Paul Hunt to lead asset management of its 1.9 million square foot Innovation Cluster in Cambridge.

Hunt is a seasoned senior asset manager with almost 30 years’ experience in real estate portfolio, asset, and development management in the UK, Europe and Australia. He joins from Gaw Capital Advisors, where he was head of UK portfolio and a senior director. In his career, he has also worked at Hutchinson Property Group and Landsec. He is the latest in a series of strategic hires by Railpen for its Innovation Cluster. Railpen’s Innovation Cluster is a geographical ecosystem comprising real estate, direct investments into innovation companies, and strategic partnerships, with the goal of creating sustainable economic and social growth for the UK at scale and pace, while also delivering long-term returns to its members.

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