WTW to Launch £450 million Private Equity Long Term Asset Fund

The fund will receive commitments from WTW’s LifeSight defined contribution pension master trust but requires approval from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority.

Investment consultant WTW announced on Monday that it would launch a 450 million pound ($560 million) long-term asset fund with a focus on private equity investments. The fund, CG WTW Private Equity Access LTAF will be WTW’s first pooled investment fund offered by the firm’s institutional private equity business.

The new fund is subject to approval by the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority. In November 2021, the FCA approved the use and issuance of long-term asset funds, which are open-ended funds that invest in illiquid assets like private equity, venture capital, real estate, private credit, infrastructure and other illiquid investments.

The defined contribution pension master trust of WTW, LifeSight, will allocate 5% of its LifeSight equity default fund into the investment vehicle. LifeSight oversees defined contribution plans with 360,000 members from different employers.

“Crucially for end savers looking to grow their wealth, they will now be able to access dedicated private equity exposure through a regulated pooled fund structure, the first of its kind in the market,” said Ben Leach, head of private market solutions at WTW, in a statement.

WTW expects to offer the fund to institutional and retail investors, as well as defined contribution plans. “WTW believes that private equity investments, which historically have offered a high illiquidity premium, provide the greatest opportunity to maximise long-term returns from private markets and are therefore where all long-term illiquid DC asset strategies should start,” the press release stated.