SEI Master Trust has been granted authorisation, becoming the 14th master trust to be given the stamp of approval by The Pensions Regulator (TPR).
The £361m master trust was given the green light on 7 August, meaning it will continue to serve its 25,000 members.
Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia defined contribution (DC) managing director Steve Charlton said the authorisation process was “good practice” for the master trust, and there are “many good things that can come from it”.
He said: “[The authorisation process] was a good opportunity for us to make sure that we are as good as we say we are, and perhaps even better than we think we are. It was also a good opportunity to stop, reset and say okay, there’s a couple of things we can improve on.”
The master trust will now focus on areas such as continuing to build on its member communication strategies, Charlton added.
“We know that communication is an important thing, and we know that the world is going to have more digital and online type approaches.
“But we think that something that has been losing ground amid the noise of the digital stuff is the fundamental piece of what drives DC. That is, the amount of money that goes in and where that money is invested.”
He noted that the master trust is also focusing on building DC default funds that are appropriate for its members.
The news follows approval being granted to the Railways Pension Scheme’s Industry Wide Defined Contribution (IWDC) Section and the Aon Master Trust last week.
Schemes had until the end of March to apply, or they would have been forced to wind up and transfer members to an authorised scheme, unless they had agreed an extension with TPR.
Some 44 schemes have exited or triggered their exit from the market according to TPR’s latest exit figures. These include the Ascot Lloyd Pension Trust and the McDonald’s Franchisee Pension Scheme.
Other master trusts so far authorised include Mercer, the Universities Superannuation Scheme, BlueSky Pension Scheme, The Crystal Trust, and Willis Towers Watson’s LifeSight,