London CIV Names Jenny Buck as CIO

The appointment of the former Tesco pension CIO will be effective in early March.

Jenny Buck

The London CIV, an entity that manages the assets of 32 local government pension funds in the city and boroughs of London, announced on Tuesday the appointment of Jenny Buck as its CIO. Buck will take over the role in early March.

Buck succeeds Aoifinn Devitt, who announced her resignation from London CIV last July and left last November to join registered investment adviser firm Moneta. Prior to Devitt, Jason Fletcher was CIO between 2020 and 2023, and Mark Thompson was CIO in 2019 for less than a month.

London CIV, established in 2015, managed 50.8 billion pounds ($62.5 billion) as of March 31, 2024. It had more than 711,000 beneficiaries across all 32 pension funds at that time. Approximately 65% of the fund’s assets, or 32.8 billion pounds, are managed as part of the pool.

Buck was previously CIO of Tesco Pension Investment Ltd., starting in April 2021. She had held multiple senior roles at the fund since 2011, including head of property, head of private markets and deputy CIO. She was a member of the Tesco fund’s founding leadership team, which grew to more than 100 employees during her tenure. Previously, Buck was the head of global at Schroder Property Investment Management.

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“I am thrilled to be taking on this exciting role and am very much looking forward to working with the team and the partners of the London CIV, who, I know, are all focused on delivering sustainable prosperity for the communities that count on us,” Buck said in a statement.

As CIO of Tesco, Buck oversaw the transition of the fiduciary management of the defined benefit pension to Schroders, which was appointed as the outsourced CIO of the plan in February 2024.

The CIO appointment comes as Rachel Reeves, chancellor of the exchequer, plans to reform the U.K.’s pension system to encourage the consolidation of local plans. Last November, Reeves proposed the consolidation of into a handful of “mega funds”; this could allow the funds to invest in a wider range of assets, including infrastructure.

Reeves wants the pension system of the country to follow the investment styles of Canada’s “Maple 8” public pension funds and Australia’s superannuation system, which include internal management of assets, direct investing and higher allocations to infrastructure, an asset class Reeves wants the U.K.’s pension funds to invest in domestically. 

“Given the government’s recent decision to redefine how LGPS pools across England and Wales work together with their partner funds in the coming months and years, Jenny’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for the London LGPS community,” said Dean Bowden, CEO of the London CIV, in a statement.

Related Stories:

London CIV CIO Aoifinn Devitt to Step Down

London CIV Appoints Aoifinn Devitt as CIO

HSBC’s UK Pension Chief Joining London CIV

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