Pensions UK has set out practical steps to enable schemes to invest more in UK growth assets, as it emerged that almost half (48 per cent) of the trade body’s members believed the government was doing 'a little' to facilitate a pipeline of investable opportunities.

The report, and accompanying call to action, comes one year after the Mansion House Accord was signed, a voluntary commitment by 17 of the UK’s largest pension providers to increase investment in unlisted assets in the UK and globally.

The providers committed to invest at least 10 per cent of their defined contribution default funds in private markets by 2030, with 5 per cent of the total allocated to the UK. As part of the accord, the government committed to help build a pipeline of investable opportunities.

Only 27 per cent of members believed that government was doing either ‘a lot’ or ‘a moderate amount’ to help build a pipeline, while 86 per cent expected pressure to invest in the UK to rise, according to a report by the association looking at what must change if pension capital is to be mobilised at scale.

One in 10 (10 per cent) said they felt the government was not doing anything to help facilitate pension investment in UK growth assets.

Other barriers to further UK investment, cited in the report, included insufficient risk-adjusted returns (41 per cent), a lack of suitable investable opportunities (41 per cent) and policy uncertainty (33 per cent).

The document, From commitment to deployment: Scaling pension fund investment in the UK economy, maps the UK pension investment system and evaluates four key public finance institutions – the British Business Bank, the National Wealth Fund, Homes England and Great British Energy.

It also shared case studies from the private sector showing what successful UK investment can look like in practice.

According to the report, the system remained fragmented, and public financial institutions are at different levels of readiness, with the British Business Bank being the most advanced so far.

The report highlighted successful private finance initiatives that offer lessons, adding that while barriers remain, they are practical and solvable.

In the accompanying call to action, Pensions UK made the case for clearer end-to-end pathways that connect pension capital to investable UK opportunities, supported by coordinated government action, institutions that can bring scalable vehicles to market, and regulation that enables long-term investment decisions focused on value as well as cost.

UK pension schemes already invest an estimated £1trn in the UK across gilts, equities, credit and alternatives, supporting economic growth.

“But more practical, co-ordinated action by government and agencies is needed to support their efforts to keep scaling those investments, said Pensions UK executive director of policy and advocacy, Zoe Alexander.

“Schemes need a diverse range of investable routes that are consistent with fiduciary duty and deliver good outcomes for savers.”

She added: “A year on from the delivery of the Mansion House Accord, this report sets out the practical steps needed so that public finance institutions, regulators and industry can work together to connect long-term pension capital with a clearer, more investable pipeline of UK opportunities.”

The call to action addressed parties across the pensions system.

It stated: “We recognise that achieving the goal of delivering UK growth via pension investment is not something the government can do alone: the wider industry has a role to play.”

Pensions UK said it would track progress as part of its Mansion House Accord engagement, and working with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and City of London Corporation, would monitor whether system changes were translating into investable opportunities.

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