Clients
Some recent client assignments are below.
Leading Global PE Firm
This leading Global Private Equity Firm, with over $80 billion in AuM, is expanding in Insurance and Pensions long-term liability businesses in Europe.
Paul is advising the firm on their strategic acquisitions in European Insurance, Pensions and long-term liabilities, including all aspects of their intended asset management and ALM strategy.
Italian Life Insurer
This Italian life insurance provider has Eur 17bn of reserves and is headquartered in Milan.
We were invited to discuss the formation of an internal Investment Office function that could bring together 3 acquisitions into a best-in-class oversight model. We also discussed optimal investment management reporting and set up a project for the business to implement.
Bermudan reinsurer
This Bermudan Reinsurer has recently purchased an Irish protection business. It is capitalised and set up to purchase bulk annuities in the £500m – £1bn range in the UK and mainland Europe.
LIO is advising the company and its CIO on aspects of its Investment Office setup.
Oxford University Press
Originating in 1586, Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. OUP is the largest university press in the world and publishes in all academic fields, from multiple offices around the world.
Oxford University Press has a £500m Defined Benefit Pension Fund. LIO has advised the OUP PF Trustees on aspects of the Investment Management and Investment Performance of their assets.
Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University
Dating from 1869, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge is one of 31 colleges, which alongside academic departments, constitutes the University of Cambridge.
Paul has been on the Investment Advisory Committee of the College since 2015.In that time, the College has conducted an external manager review and appointed new managers for its Endowment fund.
Lazard & Co.
Since 1848, Lazard has remained a trusted advisor to governments, financial institutions, public and private pension schemes, financial advisors, and individuals around the world.
Paul has been a Trustee, specialising in giving Investment Advice, to the Lazard Directors’ Pension Fund since 2011.
Cinven
Cinven is a leading European private equity firm with the capabilities to grow portfolio companies globally. It had € 10.6 billion in asset under management as of 31 Dec 15.
Paul supplied an analysis of the ideal target operating model for the Investment Function for Guardian Assurance, which was purchased by Cinven from Aegon in December 2011. This piece of work led to Paul being appointed CIO.
Cinven backed Guardian to roll-up major closed-life books over a four-year ownership period. This culminated in a business with £17 billion of assets, around 900,000 policies and a healthy balance sheet. This made it highly attractive to Admin Re which acquired the business. The sale generated a €1.2 billion (£1.0bn) capital gain for Cinven investors.
Phoenix Group
The Group is a closed life assurance fund consolidator that specialises in the management and acquisition of closed life and pension funds, and operates primarily in the United Kingdom. Measured by total assets, the Group is the largest UK consolidator of closed life assurance funds. The Group has over 6.1 million policyholders and £74 billion of assets held by the Group’s life companies, including the newly acquired Abbey Life, AXA Wealth and SunLife businesses.
Paul conducted a advisory project to Phoenix in 2011 to advise them on the optimal construction of an Investment Office within the Group function. This was implemented in the following years.
RiskFirst
RiskFirst is a financial technology business providing intuitive, user-friendly risk analytics and reporting solutions to the pensions and investment market.
The company’s core product, PFaroe, was launched in 2009 to target DB pension schemes and is now the market leader in the UK, with a growing foothold in the US. Over 1,200 pension schemes, with more than $750 billion of liabilities, now use our technology.
In 2011, Paul worked with RiskFirst (then named Pensions First) to devise a highly innovative risk transfer solution for DB Pension Schemes. Paul supplied the business plan for the Asset Management.