L&G has announced that its Lifetime Advantage Funds (LAF) have reached £25bn in assets under management (AUM), meeting the UK government’s target for defined contribution (DC) multi-employer default funds set out in the 2026 Pension Schemes Bill.

Launched in 2024, the target date fund range forms L&G’s core default strategy for contract-based DC clients and provides members with access to private markets and other growth assets. Alongside the AUM milestone, L&G said the funds had also surpassed a 10 per cent allocation to private markets, fulfilling one of the commitments under the Mansion House Accord. The firm confirmed that its Private Markets Access Fund has now reached £3bn in AUM, with £2.6bn invested into areas such as housing, renewable energy and infrastructure. L&G global head of DC, Lesley-Ann Morgan, said the growth of the Lifetime Advantage Funds reflected “the trust our clients place in us, the strength of our investment solutions and our retirement proposition”. She added that the progress in private markets demonstrated L&G’s commitment to improving retirement outcomes while supporting the UK economy.

The Accountability Framework initiative (AFi) has launched a new finance tool designed to help financial institutions identify and address deforestation, ecosystem conversion and human rights risks across investment and lending portfolios.

The tool is aimed at asset managers, banks, investors and pension funds with exposure to agricultural and forestry commodity supply chains. AFi said the resource would help institutions assess where sustainability risks exist and prioritise engagement with companies where action could have the greatest impact. The tool includes indicators from disclosure and assessment platforms, such as CDP, Forest 500, Forest IQ, and the Global Reporting Initiative, alongside a stewardship guide to support engagement with portfolio companies. AFi director, Jeff Milder, said the tool addressed a growing need for financial institutions managing rising regulatory, reputational and operational risks linked to deforestation. In addition, PRI head of stewardship – nature, Tim Steinweg, said the tool would help investors identify financially material risks and support more effective stewardship activity.

Fidelity International has announced that its FutureWise default investment strategy for UK workplace pension schemes has surpassed £25bn in AUM.

The firm also unveiled its Private Markets Partner Network, comprising 10 global general partners currently invested in through the Fidelity Diversified Private Assets Long-Term Asset Fund (LTAF). FutureWise adopted a target-date fund structure in 2022 and became the first investor in Fidelity’s private-assets LTAF following its launch in early 2025. Fidelity said the strategy is targeting a 15 per cent allocation to the LTAF during the growth phase, providing members with greater exposure to private equity, private credit, infrastructure and real estate. FutureWise investment director, James Monk, said assets in the strategy had increased from £6.5bn to £25bn since the move to a target-date fund structure. He argued the milestone reflected “strong demand for a simplified, outcome-focused default solution” and added that Fidelity expects FutureWise to exceed £40bn in assets by 2030. Meanwhile, Fidelity International head of private markets portfolio management, Vivian Liu, said the newly-launched partner network would provide “institutional-quality private markets access” designed to improve long-term member outcomes.

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