Smart Pension has acquired Evolve Pensions, owner of the £750m Crystal master trust.
The master trust sector has seen considerable consolidation in recent years and this latest deal, which had been expected by some in the industry, boosts Smart Pension’s AUM to £4bn.
Smart Pension has made a number of acquisitions in the sector in recent years, including the Ensign Master Trust, the Welplan Master Trust, the Corpad Master Trust and Corporate Pensions Trust.
Smart Pension says this acquisition will improve experience and provide efficiencies for the Crystal Trust’s employers and its 180,000 members. This will be enabled by its proprietary cloud-based platform Keystone. Smart says this platform can help deliver the scale and efficiencies needed to drive better value for savers.
In its recent package of reforms for the pensions industry, the government and the regulators signalled that they want to see more consolidation in the workplace pensions sector, with evidence suggesting larger schemes can deliver better value for members.
Smart UK CEO Jamie Fiveash says this latest acquisition is part of its wider consolidation strategy. “It is clear that ‘winning’ in this market means delivering better value for savers. Size and efficiency are important for that, but also great technology. Synergies and economies of scale allow value to be passed back both to employers and to members.
“Our joint focus will be working towards merging the Crystal Trust into the Smart Pension Master Trust within the next 12 months, ensuring that members can benefit from the efficiencies and proposition improvements that scale and technology can bring.”
He added that the company still had “ambitions growth plans” which will see further acquisitions, partnerships and new product developments over the coming months.
Evolve CEO Paul Bannister adds: “We can bring exceptional value to pension savers across the UK through our heritage in the industry, and Smart Pension’s globally recognised technology, and proven membership experience capabilities. Smart Pension has become recognised as the ‘consolidator of choice’ in the UK workplace pension market for good reason: they create value for employers and members.”
